BRIGHAM  YOUN 


JiND 


\\\\\\\\W\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 


mS  MORMON  EMHRE 


FRANK  J.  CANNON 
GEORGE  L.  KNAPP 


LIBRAKf 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/brighamyounghismOOcannrich 


BRIGHAM   YOUNG  AND   HIS 
MORMON   EMPIRE 


BRIGHAM  YOUNG'S  LATEST  PHOTOGRAPH,   1877 


'   a  ^  t- 

7  7 


Brigham    Young 

And  His 

Mormon  Empire 


FRANK  J.   CANNON 

AND 

GEORGE   L.   KNAPP 

ILLUSTRATED 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming   H.    Revell    Company 

London  a'nd  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1913,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  125  N.  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:   100   Princes  Street 


CADEMY    OF 
CIFIC  COAST 
HISTOBY 


CONTENTS 

Introduction:  The  Man  Who  Went  from  a  Puritan  Farm 

to  Found  a  Mohammedan  Empire  in  the  Desert  .        9 

I.  Birth  and  Ancestry  of  Brigham — A  Sultan's  Small 

Beginnings 13 

II.  Mormonism  Finds  Its  Field  in  the  Spiritual  Chaos 

of  the  Mississippi  Valley 18 

III.  Joseph  and  Brigham — Prophet  vs.  Business  Manager      28 

IV.  Growth     of     Brigham's     Influence — Climbing    the 

Tower  of  Faith 33 

V.  The  Original  Garden  of  Eden  is  Found  in  Missouri 

— And  Abandoned 39 

VI.  Prophecy  and  Finance  Fail  to  Mix — Conflicts  with 

Gentiles 44 

VII.  Nauvoo  the  Beautiful— Brigham's  British  Mission  .      54 

VIII.  Polygamy    Made    Known    for    the    Glory    of    the 

Prophets 63 

IX.  Growth  of  Church  and  Clash  with  Civil  Power  .       .      75 

X.  Joseph  Smith  Seeks  the  Presidency  of  the  United 

States,  and  Finds  a  Death  at  the  Hands  of  a  Mob  84 

XI.  Brigham  Takes  Command  as  the  New  Priest-King  .  96 

XII.  The  Persecuted  Saints  Start  on  Their  Last  Exile  .  103 

XIII.  Brigham  Issues  the  One  Revelation  of  His  Career  115 

XIV.  Across  the  Great  American  Desert  to  the  Inland 

Sea 127 

XV.  Zion  is  Founded  by  Salt  Lake  Because  the  Saints 

Can  Go  No  Farther 142 

XVI.  Signs  and  Miracles  Attend  the  Colony  of  the  Saints    152 

XVII.  The  Church  Political  Begins  Building  Its  Empire  .     159 

6 


6  CONTENTS 

XVIII.  The  Gentile  Rush  for  Gold  Brings  Riches  to  the 

Faithful 167 

XIX.  The  Way  of  a  Sultan — Brighamized  Industry  .  179 

XX.  Brigham  as  a  Patron  of  Art 189 

XXL          The  Church  Dukes 197 

XXII.  The  Church  Organizes  the  State  of  "  Deseret "  .  212 

XXIII.  Public  Proclamation  of  Polygamy  ....  224 

XXIV.  Analysis  of  the  Plural  Wife  System     .       .       .237 

XXV.  Troubles  of  the  Saints — The  King  Can  Admit 

No  Wrong 248 

XXVI.  Shedding  of  Blood  as  a  Means  of  Salvation      .  261 

XXVII.  Massacre  of  Emigrants  at  Mountain  Meadows  .  273 

XXVIII.  Clash  with  Federal  Government — ^The  Mormon 

War 284 

XXIX.  Disgraceful  Ending  of  the  Mormon  War  .       .  295 

XXX.  The  Church  Keeps  Its  Power— A  Profit-Seeking 

Prophet 309 

XXXI.  Spoiling  the  Gentiles— Utah  During  the  Civil  War  319 

XXXII.  Building  Trusts  and  Crushing  Heresies      .       .  338 

XXXIII.  The  First  Crusade  Against  the  Saints  Defeated  .  355 

XXXIV.  Brigham's  Closing  Years— "Lion  of  the  Lord" 

to   the  Last— His   Death 374 

XXXV.  And    Afterwards— The    Polygamous    Despotism 

Founded  by  Brigham  Young  Still  Survives  .  386 

Index 393 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Brigham  Young  in  1877 


Frontispiece 

FACING 


His  Earliest  Known  Photograph  . 
Mormon  Temples  Built  by  Young 
The  Imperial  Offices  and  Residences  in  Salt  Lake 

City        .         .         .         . 
Assembly  Hall,  Tabernacle  and  Temple 
Interior    of    Great    Tabernacle,    Where    Brigham 

Scolded  the  Saints  . 
Brigham  Young  About  1865 
A  Mormon  Family     . 
Brigham  Young  and  Some  of  His  Wives 
Brigham  Young  in  1870 
Modern  Capital  of  the  Empire 
Main  Street,  Salt  Lake  City 
Ann  Eliza,  the  Nineteenth  Wife 
His  Grave 
His  Monument  . 


PAGE 

148 
180 

198 

222 

242 
272 
322 

344 
368 
378 
386 


INTRODUCTION 

IN  the  middle  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
there  arose  in  America  a  man  destined  to  a  career 
more  strange  and  incredible  than  most  romancers 
have  dared  to  imagine  for  their  heroes.  That  man 
was  Brigham  Young. 

Born  on  a  soil  saturated  with  New  England  Puri- 
tanism, he  became  a  follower  and  then  a  leader  of  the 
Mohammedanism  of  the  West.  Born  in  a  community 
which  held  that  Heaven  had  withdrawn  from  man, 
and  which  admitted  no  revelation  less  than  eighteen 
centuries  old,  he  was  accepted  by  half  a  million  people 
as  the  mouthpiece  and  representative  of  God.  Born 
of  a  race  in  which  monogamy  has  been  the  accustomed 
form  of  marriage  since  before  the  dawn  of  history, 
he  is  famous  to-day  as  having  been  husband  of  a  score 
of  wives,  and  sire  of  half  a  hundred  offspring. 

Brigham  Young  was  not  one  of  those  children  of 
fortune  who  move  with  the  current  of  the  age,  and 
draw  greatness  from  the  greatness  of  their  country. 
Good  fortune  did  not  pass  him  by  altogether,  but 
neither  did  she  embarrass  him  with  favours.  Brigham 
never  came  in  contact  with  the  real  life  of  the  nation, 
save  to  defy  it,  and  flout  it,  and  do  his  best  to 
change  it.  He  set  up  an  Asiatic  despotism  on  Ameri- 
can soil.  He  maintained  a  Mohammedan  marriage 
system  in  a  Puritanical  land.  He  built  a  theocracy 
in  an  age  which  already  had  witnessed  the  birth  of 
Renan  and  Ingersoll.  He  took  a  broken  and  dispirited 
people,  led  them  across  a  thousand  miles  of  desert,  and 

9 


10  INl^RODUCTION 

with  them  founded  his  kingdom  in  the  fertile  valley 
by  an  inland  sea. 

The  man  who  could  achieve  these  things,  even  with 
some  aid  from  fortune,  was  a  man  of  no  common 
calibre.  Without  a  day  of  military  training,  he  be- 
came a  very  efficient  general-in-chief  to  his  people. 
Without  an  hour's  reading  of  law,  he  made  himself 
judge  and  lawgiver — and  in  the  main  a  just  one — for 
a  whole  community.  Where  his  own  knowledge  was 
deficient,  he  had  skill  to  use  the  ability  of  others;  and 
to  this  day,  the  finances,  the  government,  the  merchan- 
dising, the  architecture,  the  social  life,  and  even  the 
agriculture  of  the  Mormon  community  bear  the  stamp 
put  upon  them  by  Brigham  Young. 

He  matched  his  wits  against  the  might  of  the  United 
States  government,  and  did  not  come  ojff  second- 
best.  He  yielded  in  outward  seeming  to  federal 
power;  but  in  reality  he  was  emperor  of  his  little 
realm  to  the  hour  of  his  death,  and  his  subjects  never 
doubted  his  supremacy.  He  drove  federal  appointees 
in  disgrace  from  his  kingdom,  and  took  their  positions 
for  himself  and  his  favourites.  No  matter  how  over- 
whelming the  power  with  which  he  was  dealing, 
Brigham  Young  never  was  a  suppliant.  He  stormed, 
bullied,  lied,  intrigued,  finessed,  cajoled;  he  never 
pleaded  for  mercy  nor  owned  himself  in  need  of 
mercy.  He  met  chastisement  with  fresh  provocation. 
Knowing  polygamy  to  be  the  most  offensive  of  his 
sins  in  the  eyes  of  the  nation,  he  lived  openly  with  a 
score  of  wives,  sent  his  most  honoured  polygamous 
apostle  to  Congress  as  a  territorial  delegate,  and  per- 
mitted his  subordinate  priests  to  debate  with  Christian 
clergymen  on  the  divinity  of  plural  marriage. 

He  has  become  a  central  figure  of  weird  and  dis- 


INTRODUCTION  11 

torted  legends.  He  has  been  made  the  target  of  num- 
berless invectives.  He  has  been  made  the  idol  of  a 
worshipping  people.  But  never  has  he  taken  his  place 
in  calm,  impartial  history;  never  has  the  story  of  his 
life  been  told,  save  by  some  one  more  anxious  to  curse 
or  to  bless  than  to  understand  and  set  forth.  In  the 
hope  of  performing  this  belated  service,  of  setting  out 
in  true  perspective  one  of  the  most  romantic  and  in- 
teresting characters  of  American  history,  this  book 
is  written. 


I 

A  SULTAN'S  SMALL  BEGINNINGS 

BRIGHAM  YOUNG  was  born  in  Whitingham, 
Windham  county,  Vermont,  on  the  first  day  of 
June,  1 80 1.  He  was  the  ninth  child  in  a  family 
of  eleven.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Nabbie 
Howe.  His  father  was  John  Young,  who  had  been 
a  farmer  in  Massachusetts,  and  who  moved  to  Ver- 
mont a  few  months  before  the  birth  of  his  ninth  child. 
Both  parents  belonged  to  old  New  England  stock,  and 
probably  were  of  unmixed  English  descent. 

The  Youngs  at  this  time  were  very  poor.  Linn 
quotes  a  second-hand  tradition  which  makes  a  town 
patriarch  say :  "  Brigham  Young's  father  came  here 
the  poorest  man  that  had  ever  been  in  town;  .  .  . 
he  never  owned  a  cow,  horse  or  any  land,  but  was  a 
basket-maker."  Passing  the  probable  exaggeration  of 
such  tradition,  we  may  remark  that  John  Young  raised 
eleven  children  to  be  competent,  self-supporting  mem- 
bers of  society.  Children  were  less  expensive  in  those 
days  than  now;  but  surely  even  then  the  father  of  such 
a  family  did  not  deserve  reproach  merely  for  his  pov- 
erty. 

Though  poor,  the  Youngs  had  little  in  common  with 
the  family  from  which  Joseph  Smith  sprung.  John 
Young  had  served  in  the  Revolutionary  army  under 
Washington.  His  father,  Brigham's  grandfather, 
was  a  surgeon  in  the  colonial  forces  in  the  French 
and  Indian   war.     The   surgical   knowledge   of   the 

13 


14  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

eighteenth  century  did  not  make  a  very  bulky  package, 
but  at  that  time  it  was  not  easy  to  get.  The  elder 
Young's  occupation  at  least  is  proof  of  more  than 
ordinary  ambition,  and  probably  of  a  fairly  high  order 
of  intelligence  and  courage. 

Such  tradition  as  deals  with  the  family  of  Brigham's 
mother  tells  little  but  vague  rumors  of  "  good  connec- 
tions," which  may  or  may  not  be  truth.  Altogether, 
Brigham  seems  to  have  sprung  from  sound,  thrifty 
stock,  which  had  been  faring  rather  hardly  for  at  least 
one  generation.  In  him  the  capacities  of  the  breed 
rose  to  their  highest  level — indeed,  he  well-nigh 
monopolized  them.  This  history  will  furnish  abundant 
proof  that  Brigham  Young  was  a  man  of  remarkable 
intelligence  and  character,  and  several  of  his  descend- 
ants have  shown  unusual  abilities.  But  of  his  brothers, 
sisters,  nephews,  and  nieces,  few  have  risen  above 
mediocrity. 

When  Brigham  was  a  child  of  three  years,  his  par- 
ents moved  to  Chenango  county,  New  York.  They 
were  still  poor,  though  perhaps  less  destitute  than  dur- 
ing their  stay  in  Vermont,  and  John  Young  could  give 
his  numerous  offspring  little  in  the  way  of  education. 
Brigham  started  in  life  for  himself  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen, and  without  doubt  he  had  contributed  to  the  fam- 
ily treasury  before  that  time.  He  was  by  turns  a  car- 
penter, painter,  and  glazier — a  Jack-of-all-trades,  like 
any  other  bright  Yankee  boy  of  that  unspecialized 
period.  He  learned  the  glazier's  trade  thoroughly,  and 
his  knowledge  of  practical  carpentry  was  useful  to  him 
on  more  than  one  important  occasion  in  later  life. 

There  is  little  authentic  information  about  Brig- 
ham's  movements  for  the  next  few  years.  He  located 
in  another  county;  tradition  says  he  spent  a  season  in 


A  SULTAN'S  SMALL  BEGINNINGS        16 

wandering,  like  other  restless  youngsters  before  and 
since.  His  parents  were  Methodists,  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  he  united  with  that  church.  Three 
years  later,  he  married  a  Miss  Miriam  Works.  She 
bore  him  two  children, — both  daughters, — followed 
him  into  the  Mormon  church,  and  died  not  long  after, 
in  1832. 

In  a  sermon  in  Salt  Lake  years  afterwards.  Brig- 
ham  Young  declared  that  he  studied  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon two  years  before  accepting  it  as  the  word  of 
God,  and  ordering  his  life  by  its  teachings.  The 
period  of  two  years  between  his  first  acquaintance 
with  the  new  religion  and  his  acceptance  of  the  same 
is  undoubted;  but  the  deep  study  implied  must  not 
be  taken  too  literally.  Neither  then  nor  later  was 
Brigham  Young  a  great  student  of  books,  and  the 
Book  of  Mormon  is  no  exception.  At  no  time  in 
his  career  do  we  find  him  basing  his  conduct 
in  a  crisis  on  the  texts  in  Joseph  Smith's  sup- 
plementary scripture.  When  supporting  Smith 
against  the  rebels  within  the  fold,  when  fighting  Sid- 
ney Rigdon  for  mastery,  and  when  unquestioned  ruler 
of  the  church  and  all  within  its  grasp.  Young's  pro- 
nunciamentos  are  always  practical  and  immediate, 
never  didactic  and  argumentative.  They  deal  with 
men  and  things,  never  with  fine-drawn  interpretations 
and  learned  expositions  of  written  guides  to  duty. 

In  1829,  Brigham  moved  to  Mendon,  Monroe 
county,  New  York,  where  his  father  and  brother 
Phineas  were  living,  and  there  first  came  into  con- 
tact with  the  teachings  of  Joseph  Smith,  the  founder 
of  the  Mormon  faith.  Phineas  was  already  a  devotee 
of  the  new  prophet,  and  at  his  house,  in  1830, 
Brigham  made  acquaintance  with  the  Book  of  Mor- 


16  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

mon.  The  daring  creed  attracted  him  from  the  be- 
ginning, though  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  the 
chief  centre  of  attraction  was  found  in  the  new  sacred 
book.  Reading,  discussing,  arguing,  and  on  rare 
occasions  hearing  a  Mormon  sermon,  Brigham  grad- 
ually dropped  his  lightly  held  Methodism,  and  accepted 
the  divine  mission  of  Joseph  Smith.  There  is  a  story 
that  after  making  up  his  mind  to  join  the  church,  he 
went  to  Canada  and  brought  his  brother  Joseph  into 
the  fold  before  offering  himself  for  baptism.  The 
tale  is  at  least  characteristic  of  the  man. 

On  April  14,  1832,  Brigham  Young  was  baptized 
into  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints 
by  one  Eleazur  Miller,  at  Mendon,  New  York.  Miller 
evidently  thought  he  had  obtained  a  prize,  for  he  or- 
dained his  new  convert  an  elder  at  the  water's  edge. 
The  next  day,  Heber  C.  Kimball,  already  Brigham's 
devoted  friend  and  adherent,  followed  his  leader  into 
the  water  to  testify  his  faith  that  Joseph  Smith  was 
the  prophet  of  God — and  his  yet  more  certain  faith 
that  Brigham  Young  knew  what  was  best  for  both 
of  them. 

Henceforth,  the  fate  of  Brigham  is  bound  up  with 
the  fate  of  Mormonism.  His  trials  are  the  trials  of 
a  new  religion;  his  successes  the  triumphs  of  the  new 
theocracy.  He  spent  the  summer  preaching  to  his 
friends  and  neighbours  around  Mendon,  and  early  in 
the  fall  started  for  Kirtland,  Ohio,  to  meet  the  new 
prophet  to  whom  he  had  sworn  allegiance. 

Legend  has  busied  itself  for  more  than  seventy 
years  with  that  meeting,  and  the  exact  date  and  many 
other  circumstances  of  the  occasion  are  buried  from 
sight.  In  the  presence  of  the  prophet,  the  gift  of 
tongues  descended  upon  Brigham,  and  he  spoke  in 


A  SULTANAS  SMALL  BEGINNINGS        IT 

strange  sounds.  Thereupon,  the  gift  of  interpreta- 
tion was  vouchsafed  to  Prophet  Smith,  who  declared 
that  his  new  disciple  was  speaking  in  the  "pure 
Adamic  language  " — a  dialect  even  more  remote  from 
the  ken  of  scholars  than  "  reformed  Egyptian,"  and 
having  the  further  merit  of  variety. 

The  Prophet  of  Mormonism  had  met  its  Business 
Manager. 


II 

A  SPIRITUAL  CHAOS 

IN  1830,  there  was  published  at  Palmyra,  New 
York,  the  Book  of  Mormon,  a  work  which 
claims  to  set  forth  the  dealings  of  God  with  the 
peoples  of  the  Western  Hemisphere,  and  which  has 
given  its  name  to  the  most  unique  of  modern  religions. 
The  person  who  offered  the  Book  of  Mormon 
for  publication  was  a  young  man  named  Joseph  Smith. 
His  story  of  its  origin  has  an  interest  which  few 
persons  have  discovered  in  the  book  itself.  Accord- 
ing to  his  account,  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  a  trans- 
lation of  an  ancient  scripture,  written  in  a  lost  lan- 
guage on  golden  plates.  An  angel  had  come  from 
heaven  to  give  these  plates  to  Joseph  for  translation, 
and  to  inform  him  that  he  had  been  chosen  by  the 
Most  High  to  restore  true  religion  to  a  lost  and  cor- 
rupted world.  Joseph  had  but  little  knowledge  of  his 
own  language,  and  was  totally  ignorant  of  any  other; 
but  the  Divine  mission  was  not  balked  by  that  slight 
obstacle.  Buried  with  the  plates  were  two  trans- 
parent stones,  "  Urim  and  Thummin !  "  The  golden 
plates  were  written  in  "  Reformed  Egyptian."  By 
looking  through  "  Urim  and  Thummin,"  Joseph  was 
enabled  to  translate  this  mysterious  dialect  into  Eng- 
lish which  any  lover  of  that  tongue  will  agree  is  in 
need  of  reform. 

The  plates  were  "  revealed  unto  Joseph  "  in  1823, 
given  into  his  hands  in  1827,  and  the  translation  was 

18 


A  SPIRITUAL  CHAOS  19 

ready  for  the  printer  in  1829.  The  Mormon  Church 
— whose  official  title  is  "  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter  Day  Saints  " — was  organized  April  6,  1830, 
at  Fayette,  New  York.  During  most  of  this  time, 
Joseph  had  been  putting  forth  divers  "  revelations," 
some  of  a  very  practical  import,  and  generally  claim- 
ing the  powers  and  prerogatives  of  a  prophet.  Recog- 
nizing— or  being  informed — that  his  tale  was  a  tax 
on  credulity,  Joseph  provided  himself  with  "  wit- 
nesses." The  first  group,  known  as  the  '*  Three  Wit- 
nesses," signed  a  statement  declaring  that  they  had 
seen  both  the  golden  plates  and  the  angel  who  brought 
them.  The  second  group,  known  as  the  "  Eight  Wit- 
nesses," couched  their  affirmation  in  a  closer  approach 
to  legal  language,  and  bore  record  "  with  words  of 
soberness  "  that  they  had  seen  and  "  hefted  "  the  won- 
derful plates,  which  "  had  the  appearance  of  gold." 

In  spite  of  these  testimonials,  Smith's  claims  were 
not  accepted  by  most  of  his  neighbours,  who  declared 
that  he  had  been  a  "  money-digger  "  and  "  crystal- 
gazer  "  from  boyhood.  The  prophet  was  without 
honour  in  his  own  country,  and — it  may  be  added — 
his  religion  had  not  found  its  proper  habitat.  Not 
until  Joseph's  missionaries  pushed  their  way  into  the 
settlements  of  the  Mississippi  valley  did  the  new  re- 
ligion meet  any  considerable  measure  of  success. 
Then  for  a  time  its  progress  was  amazing.  At  the 
prophet's  death,  in  1844,  from  50,000  to  100,000  peo- 
ple accepted  him  as  the  spokesman  and  vicegerent  of 
God.  To-day  probably  not  less  than  a  million  persons 
hold  the  same  faith. 

No  one  can  understand  the  rise  of  Mormonism 
without  some  knowledge  of  the  time  and  place  in 
which  it  arose.     Human  movements  which  achieve 


^0  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

even  partial  success  usually  have  had  help  from  cir- 
cumstances; and  never  was  such  help  more  manifest 
than  in  the  early  years  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter  Day  Saints.  Joseph  Smith  was  not  the  man 
to  surmount  great  obstacles  and  compel  great  and  last- 
ing changes  by  his  own  unaided  force.  He  lacked 
energy,  diplomacy,  and  steadfastness  for  such  a  task. 
In  a  less  favouring  age  and  society  than  that  of 
Arabia  in  the  seventh  century,  Mohammed  might  not 
have  founded  a  world  religion;  but  he  would  have 
made  his  mark  as  a  notable  schismatic  or  reformer. 
In  a  less  favouring  age  and  society  than  that  which 
was  ready  to  his  hand,  Joseph  Smith  would  have  been 
lost  to  sight.  He  could  play  his  part  only  on  a  pre- 
pared stage;  and  such  a  stage  was  the  Mississippi  val- 
ley in  the  early  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  great  valley  was  then  a  social,  political,  and 
religious  chaos.  It  was  part  of  the  territory  of  a 
civilized  nation,  it  had  been  settled  by  civilized  men; 
but  in  manners,  customs,  and  institutions,  it  was  very 
imperfectly  civilized.  Subjected  to  primitive  condi- 
tions, wrestling  with  a  formidable  wilderness,  and  for 
a  long  time  engaged  in  warfare  with  a  barbaric  enemy, 
the  western  settlers  brought  with  them  the  strength 
and  tenacity  of  civilization,  and  left  its  refinements 
and  restraints  to  follow  as  they  might.  Rifles  and 
axes  stocked  the  first  emigrant  wagons  that  crossed 
the  Alleghanies;  plows  and  spinning-wheels  came 
next;  mahogany  and  fine  linen  had  to  wait  for  a 
quieter  day  and  an  easier  trail. 

It  was  much  the  same  with  those  intellectual  and 
spiritual  matters  which  more  nearly  concern  this  his- 
tory. In  1830,  the  Mississippi  valley  presented  the 
singular  spectacle  of  a  community  which  had  escaped 


A  SPIRITUAL  CHAOS  21 

the  bonds  of  religion  without  outgrowing  its  doctrines. 
Practically  all  the  people  came  of  religious  ancestry, 
even  of  devout  ancestry.  They  had  a  deep  reverence  for 
"  things  of  the  Spirit."  They  were  fond  of  theolog- 
ical speculations.  They  deemed  it  a  matter  of  vital 
import  to  learn  what  had  become  of  the  Lost  Tribes 
of  Israel;  and  they  went  insane  formulating  data  on 
the  second  coming  of  Christ.  As  far  as  any  scientific 
scepticism  was  concerned,  they  were  innocent  as  the 
followers  of  Godfrey  de  Bouillon.  But  of  definite 
religious  standards,  or  organizations  and  teachers,  to 
satisfy  the  prevailing  interest  in  religious  matters,  they 
had  almost  none. 

Dorchester  computes  that  in  the  year  1830,  the 
Mississippi  valley  contained  4,000,000  inhabitants. 
He  reckons  348,490  of  these  as  communicants  of 
divers  Protestant  churches.  Perhaps  half  as  many 
more  may  be  classed  as  Catholics.  In  Kentucky  and 
to  a  less  extent  in  other  states  were  little  groups  of 
rational  freethinkers,  inheritors  of  Rousseau  and  Vol- 
taire, men  who  had  worked  their  way  to  a  reasonably 
stable  frame  of  mind  on  religious  matters,  however 
unsatisfactory  their  conclusions  were  deemed  by  the 
orthodox.  The  rest  of  the  population  of  the  valley — 
five-sixths  of  the  whole — were  religious  without  hav- 
ing an  organized  religion;  were  hungry  for  spiritual 
guidance  without  knowing  how  to  get  it.  Their  faith 
was  in  solution,  ready  to  crystallize  about  any  per- 
sonality, any  organization,  any  doctrine  that  could  give 
point  and  purpose  to  their  spiritual  strivings,  and  lead 
them  to  the  peace  of  assured  conviction. 

The  religious  instability  of  the  time  and  region, 
and  the  feeble  hold  of  existing  churches  on  social  life 
cannot  be  expressed  by  figures.     They  can  be  illus- 


22  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

trated  only.  In  many  places  of  considerable  popula- 
tion, no  sermon  had  been  preached  by  an  authorized 
clergyman  for  ten,  twelve,  or  fifteen  years.  When 
a  minister  appeared  in  some  of  the  back  settlements, 
it  was  not  uncommon  for  him  to  be  asked  to  perform 
the  marriage  ceremony  for  couples  who  had  been  liv- 
ing together  for  years,  and  who,  perchance,  had  chil- 
dren old  enough  to  be  interested  in  the  novel  occasion. 
The  distances  covered  by  some  early  circuit  riders  in 
their  efforts  to  reach  every  part  of  the  land  are  down- 
right appalling,  when  the  primitive  modes  of  travel 
are  considered.  The  Methodist  clergyman  stationed 
at  Detroit,  in  1822,  had  the  whole  territory  of  Michi- 
gan for  his  circuit,  except  one  town  in  the  upper 
peninsula,  and  was  expected  to  minister  to  Maumee, 
Ohio,  as  well.  It  took  four  weeks  to  make  his  round, 
even  in  good  weather.  In  Danville,  Kentucky,  in  18 18, 
there  were  two  churches,  Presbyterian  and  Roman 
Catholic.  The  Catholic  membership  is  unknown,  but 
it  cannot  have  been  large.  The  Presbyterian  church 
did  not  have  a  single  male  member. 

The  churches  were  weak  not  only  in  numbers,  but 
weak  in  learning,  weak  in  organization,  weak  in  the 
narrowness  of  their  appeal.  Most  of  the  institutions 
which  now  bring  the  church  into  close  contact  with 
the  workaday  life  of  a  community  did  not  then  exist 
— at  least,  not  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  There  were 
no  church  gymnasiums,  social  settlements,  debating 
societies,  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations.  The 
preachers,  w^ho  with  incredible  toil  and  splendid  cour- 
age made  their  way  to  and  fro  through  the  half 
wilderness,  preached  virtue  as  well  as  doctrine.  But 
they  had  no  organic  plan  of  helping  men  to  be  either 
moral  or  devout;  and,  with  few  exceptions,  their  lack 


A  SPIRITUAL  CHAOS  2S 

of  learning  and  authority  restricted  them  to  a  purely 
emotional  appeal.  Under  such  conditions,  religious 
exercises  came  to  consist  in  chief  measure  of  gathering 
in  crowds  to  hear  about  the  lost  state  of  one's  soul. 
The  pioneer  attended  a  meeting,  and  listened  to  the 
Word.  His  heart  was  touched,  he  was  convicted  of 
sin,  converted,  and  sincerely  believed  that  he  had  en- 
tered upon  a  new  life.  But  there  was  nothing  to  keep 
him  in  the  new  life.  When  the  novelty  had  worn  off 
and  the  emotional  crisis  had  passed,  the  convert 
backslid;  to  remain  in  outer  darkness  till  converted 
again. 

One  exception  must  be  made  to  this  rather  sweeping 
statement  of  church  weakness.  The  Roman  Catholic 
church,  then  as  now,  had  all  the  varied  machinery 
which  enables  a  shepherd  to  watch  over  his  flock., 
But  the  Puritan  heritage  of  most  American  settlers 
in  the  great  valley  was  so  strong  that  conversion  to 
Catholicism  was  practically  out  of  the  question.  The 
prejudice  against  "  Romanizing  "  was  invincible.  A 
man  of  Protestant  lineage  might  transgress  every  dis- 
ciplinary rule  of  his  ancestral  church,  and  nearly  every 
rule  of  morality.  He  might  never  go  near  a  church 
nor  hear  a  sermon;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  he  might 
run  after  every  ragged  street  preacher  who  lifted  the 
banner  of  a  freakish  faith.  These  things  reflected  in 
some  measure  on  his  repute  as  a  man  of  sense  and 
good  conduct,  but  they  did  not  cost  him  that  inde- 
finable and  invaluable  thing  best  expressed  by  the 
word  "  caste.''  But  if  such  a  man  turned  to  the  oldest 
and  most  opulent  of  all  forms  of  Christianity,  he  was 
beyond  the  pale.  The  church  which  had  crowned 
Charlemagne  and  blessed  Columbus  and  planted  the 
Cross  on  the  Great  River  was  deemed  somehow  un- 


M  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

worthy  of  the   ragged  squatters  along  that  river's 
banks. 

The  gulf  which  divided  Roman  Catholic  and 
Protestant  churches  was  the  deepest  and  most  nearly- 
impassable  barrier  in  the  religious  field,  but  not  the 
only  one.  The  age  was  an  age  of  schism;  and  almost 
every  new  sect  on  the  continent  had  a  branch  in  the 
Mississippi  valley.  To  give  but  a  few  instances,  the 
Disciples  of  Christ  took  their  rise  in  1810.  The  Cum- 
berland Presbyterians  began  a  separate  existence  in 
the  same  year.  The  Reformed  Methodists  followed  in 
1 8 14.  The  Hicksite  Quakers  broke  away  from  the 
main  body  in  1827.  The  Methodist  Protestant  church 
was  organized  in  1830,  and  the  Millerites  discovered 
the  exact  date  of  the  end  of  the  world  in  183 1.  Since 
the  aforesaid  ending  was  to  come  March  23,  1844,  it 
will  be  seen  that  Miller  and  his  disciples  did  not  allow 
themselves  very  much  time  to  effect  the  world's  con- 
version. This  point  is  worth  noting  when  studying 
the  claims  and  expectations  of  Mormon  leaders  at 
about  the  same  period. 

Into  this  chaos  of  churched  and  unchurched,  this 
welter  of  formless  fears  and  unformed  faiths,  came 
Mormonism.  It  was  as  arrogant  as  the  teachings  of 
Mohammed;  as  eclectic  as  the  advertising  of  a  quack 
doctor.  It  appealed,  not  to  argument,  but  to  author- 
ity; an  angel  of  God  had  come  down  from  heaven  to 
re-establish  His  lost  religion  on  earth,  and  make  plain 
to  His  chosen  prophet  the  way  of  salvation  for  man- 
kind. It  was  ready  to  meet  all  doubts  and  to  solve  all 
problems.  It  had  a  prompt,  specific  answer  for  every 
question.  It  was  willing  to  explain  at  length  whence 
a  man  came,  why  he  was  here,  and  whither  he  was 
going.    The  definiteness  of  its  answers  appealed  with 


A  SPIRITUAL  CHAOS  25 

irresistible  force  to  that  type  of  mind  which  cannot 
refrain  from  questioning  and  cannot  endure  suspense. 
The  magnitude  of  its  claims  took  the  place  of  evidence. 
A  man  who  merely  claimed  to  have  found  a  new  and 
true  meaning  in  a  well-known  Bible  text  might  be 
asked  for  his  authority.  But  the  man  who  noncha- 
lantly offered  the  world  a  whole  new  scripture,  and 
proposed  to  retranslate  the  old  one,  who  told  what  the 
pre-existing  spirits  of  men  were  doing  before  creation 
and  where  Christ  spent  the  three  days  between  cruci- 
fixion and  resurrection,  found  his  audacity  accepted 
as  proof  of  divine  guidance  in  inspiration. 

The  new  religion  was  as  catholic  as  it  was  audacious. 
It  left  nothing  out  of  its  revelations  which  could  at- 
tract any  one  of  whom  its  prophet  had  ever  heard. 
To  the  curious,  it  proffered  an  authentic  history  of 
some  part  of  those  Lost  Tribes,  whose  fate  was  so 
perplexing  to  our  grandfathers.  To  the  devout,  it 
supplied  a  record  of  the  dealings  of  God  with  the 
peoples  of  the  Western  Hemisphere.  To  the  ambitious, 
it  gave  the  companionship  of  a  man  who  had  con- 
versed with  angels,  and  who  bore  the  seal  of  the  Most 
High.  To  the  humble,  it  offered  enlistment  in  the 
literal  army  of  God.  It  copied  the  grips  and  signs 
and  passwords  of  secret  societies;  it  mirrored  the  very 
health  fads  of  the  hour.  "  Hot  drinks  are  not  good 
for  the  body  or  for  the  belly,"  declared  the  prophet 
on  one  occasion — ^perhaps  when  a  Thompsonian 
"draught"  was  racking  his  internal  economy;  and 
from  that  day  to  this,  the  Mormon  who  indulges  in 
tea  or  coffee  is  counted  a  dangerous  latitudinarian. 

The  very  mechanism  of  the  new  propaganda  was 
made  ready  in  advance.  Revivals  had  done  little  to 
provide  permanent  church  homes  for  the  devout,  but 


26  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

they  had  accustomed  the  people  to  the  phenomena  of 
conversions  in  mass,  and  to  trusting  that  ecstatic  im- 
pulse known  to  Quakers  as  the  *'  inner  light."  When 
Joseph  Smith  conversed  with  spirits,  he  did  only  what 
hundreds  of  others  had  done;  what  thousands  hoped 
some  day  to  do.  When  he  found  mysterious  books 
and  magic  gems,  he  had  merely  succeeded  in  a  search 
which  engaged  the  attention  of  many.  When  he  de- 
clared hysterical  convulsions  were  caused  by  the  pres- 
ence of  devils,  the  whole  community  agreed  with  his 
diagnosis;  and  who  should  dispute  him  when  he  as- 
sumed to  drive  those  devils  away  ?  There  was  nothing 
in  Smith's  most  extravagant  claims  to  offend  the  aver- 
age understanding  in  the  society  which  heard  those 
claims;  and  there  was  everything  to  excite  curiosity. 

Had  there  been  a  state  church  in  the  western  coun- 
try, or  even  a  close-knit  and  well-appointed  church 
system  without  state  alliance,  Mormonism  would  have 
progressed  slowly  if  at  all.  Had  there  been  a  strong 
and  stable  government  in  the  valley,  Mormonism 
would  have  dropped  some  of  its  most  characteristic 
features,  or  been  suppressed  as  treason.  Mormon 
writers  have  complained — and  justly — of  the  barba- 
rous mob  violence  which  afflicted  their  church  in 
Missouri  and  Illinois.  But  if  there  had  been  a  gov- 
ernment capable  of  suppressing  the  mob,  the  new  re- 
ligion might  have  prospered  less,  even  if  it  had  suf- 
fered less.  Assuredly,  no  government  with  well-de- 
fined traditions  of  sovereignty  would  have  granted 
such  a  charter  as  that  given  to  the  city  of  Nauvoo; 
and  no  state  of  European  firmness  of  fiber  would  have 
looked  on  complacently  at  the  efforts  of  Smith  and 
Young  to  establish  a  boundless  theocracy. 

And  here  we  touch  the  reason  why  Mormonism, 


A  SPIRITUAL  CHAOS  %1 

with  all  its  elements  of  attractiveness,  roused  furious 
and  unreasoning  opposition  wherever  it  came  in  con- 
tact with  non-Mormon  communities.  It  sought  to 
establish  not  only  a  church  but  a  government,  and  a 
government  whose  character  was  opposed  to  every  in- 
stinct and  tradition  of  American  life.  The  pioneer 
of  the  Mississippi  valley  saw  no  reason  why  Joseph 
Smith  might  not  talk  with  angels;  and  the  idea  of  a 
scripture  showing  God's  workings  on  the  Western 
Hemisphere  appealed  to  his  continental  pride.  But 
when  asked  to  renounce  his  liberty  of  action,  and  when 
told  that  he  must  yield  implicit  obedience  to  the  de- 
crees of  an  irresponsible  ruler,  the  pioneer  rebelled; 
and  he  denounced  those  who  did  not  rebel  as  traitors 
to  the  principles  of  American  life.  The  democracy 
of  the  land  was  rough  and  chaotic;  but  it  was  deep 
and  vital  and  it  revolted  instinctively  at  the  idea  of  a 
theocratic  despotism. 

The  troubles  of  Mormonism  always  have  sprung 
from  two  sources;  its  claims  to  despotic  and  exclusive 
authority  in  civil  affairs,  and  its  teaching  and  practice 
of  polygamy.  The  pioneer  communities  of  183045 
resented  most  sharply  the  threat  against  their  liberties. 
The  nation  to-day  reprobates  most  severely  the  viola- 
tion of  its  accepted  social  order.  To  the  thoughtful 
student  of  affairs,  the  two  offenses  are  one. 


Ill 

PROPHET  VS.  BUSINESS  MANAGER 

BRIGHAM  YOUNG  was  thirty-one  years  old 
when  he  came  to  Kirtland,  Ohio,  nearly  four 
years  the  senior  of  his  accepted  prophet.  The 
two  men  now  were  adherents  of  the  same  religion; 
they  were  alike  in  being  of  New  England  birth  and 
ancestry;  alike  in  their  physical  vigour,  their  love  of 
the  good  things  of  life,  their  boundless  faith  in  the 
future.  '  There  the  resemblance  ended.  The  twelve 
years  which  Brigham  and  Joseph  spent  in  the  common 
cause  but  emphasized  the  difference  in  their  natures. 

Joseph  was  a  prophet  of  pronunciamentos.  Brig- 
ham  was  an  apostle  of  work.  Joseph  indulged'  in 
revelations  on  every  commonplace  topic.  Brigham 
put  forth  6ut  one  revelation  in  his  life.  Joseph  was 
sometimes  impressive,  sometimes  jocular,  but  he  was 
destitute  of  real  seriousness  and  real  humour.  Brig- 
ham had  plenty  of  both.  Joseph  was  a  scatterer. 
Brigham  was  a  collector.  Joseph  turned  aside  after 
everything  that  crossed  his  path.  Brigham  never  left 
his  appointed  trail.  Joseph  dreamed  of  being  ruler 
of  the  United  States.  Brigham  made  himself  czar 
of  a  desert  empire;  small,  to  be  sure,  but  unique 
among  modern  communities — and  his  own. 

Both  men  were  necessary  to  the  creed  they  sup- 
ported. Brigham  could  not  have  founded  a  church. 
Joseph  could  not  have  preserved  one.  Joseph  and  his 
earlier  aids  had  gathered  a  thousand  planks  of  doc- 


PROPHET  VS.  BUSINESS  MANAGER      29 

trine.  Brigham  built  these  planks  into  a  compact 
house  of  faith  which  endures  to  this  day. 

In  1832,  Mormonism  consisted  of  a  supplementary 
scripture,  the  Book  of  Mormon;  a  quantity  of  un- 
assorted revelations;  a  number  of  unconf  erred 
ecclesiastical  titles ;  an  inchoate  theory  of  communism ; 
and — the  claim  of  direct  communication  with  the 
Most  High  through  the  prophet,  Joseph  Smith.  This 
last  was  the  basic  asset  of  the  new  religion;  the  other 
things  were  but  its  trappings  and  suits.  Other  creeds 
derived  authority  from  doubtfully  interpreted  texts, 
concerning  which  theologues  had  wrangled  for  six- 
teen centuries.  Mormonism  claimed  a  new  revelation, 
which  would  make  plain  whatever  the  older  scriptures 
had  left  uncertain;  a  continuous  revelation,  which 
would  guide  the  faithful  in  every  trial  of  their  lives. 
It  was  this  claim  which  made  Mormonism  a  unique 
creed  when  Brigham  Young  came  to  Kirtland;  and — 
after  more  than  fourscore  years — it  is  this  claim 
which  interposes  the  strongest  barrier  to  the  political 
or  religious  assimilation  of  the  Mormon  community 
with  the  rest  of  mankind. 

There  is  a  basic  difference  between  religions  of 
argument  and  religions  of  revelation.  Revelation  is 
despotic;  argument  is  democratic.  Of  all  world  re- 
ligions, Mohammedanism  rests  most  completely  on 
revelation;  and  by  the  same  token,  it  has  been  asso- 
ciated in  all  ages  with  unblinking  despotism.  Calvin- 
ism is  the  most  argumentative — not  to  say  the  most 
disputatious — type  of  Christianity;  and  for  more 
than  three  centuries  Calvinism  has  been  the  creed  most 
intimately  connected  with  struggles  for  liberty.  In 
its  claim  of  a  new  and  directly  inspired  prophet, 
Mormonism  was  closely  akin  to  the  religion  of  Mo- 


80  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

hammed.  It  was  destined  to  copy  its  Oriental  proto- 
type in  political  and  domestic  matters,  as  well  as  in 
theological  ones. 

But  with  the  best  will  in  the  world  to  be  a  pasha 
as  well  as  a  prophet,  Smith  in  1832  lacked  the  ma- 
chinery to  carry  out  his  own  wishes  and  the  logic  of 
his  church.  He  had  been  dealing  in  revelations  for 
about  five  years.  He  had  enjoyed  the  companionship 
of  several  men  far  abler  and  immeasurably  more 
learned  than  himself.  But  up  to  this  time,  their  joint 
labours  had  resulted  chiefly  in  words,  words,  words. 
They  had  made  converts — times  and  conditions  were 
.such  that  any  one  could  make  converts  to  anything. 
They  had  at  hand  a  vast  body  of  material  from  which 
a  skilful  organizer  could  construct  much.  But  of 
themselves,  they  could  build  nothing  that  did  not  need 
to  be  shored  up  afresh  each  day  by  a  new  dispensa- 
tion from  heaven.  The  church  was  so  loosely  or- 
ganized that  Smith  had  to  have  a  special  revelation 
from  the  Lord  before  he  could  settle  the  most  trifling 
dispute  or  proceed  with  the  most  obvious  work.  If 
cities  could  be  built  by  revelations  alone.  Smith  would 
have  peopled  the  continent.  But  city-building  re- 
quires hard  work  and  sound  sense;  and  until  Brigham 
Young  came  on  the  scene,  these  qualities  were  con- 
spicuously lacking  in  Mormon  leadership. 

Mormon  writers  always  assume  that  the  personality 
of  Joseph  Smith  and  the  authenticity  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon  are  as  important  to  their  religion  as  the  per- 
sonality of  Christ  and  the  authenticity  of  the  Bible 
are  to  Christianity.  Opposing  writers  tacitly  grant 
that  claim  by  learned  philological  and  archaeological 
dissertations  on  the  fraud  of  the  Book  of  Mormon, 
and  verbose  affidavits  to  prove  that  Smith  was  not 


PROPHET  VS.  BUSINESS  MANAGER      31 

the  sort  of  person  the  Lord  would  choose  for  a 
prophet.  The  controversy  is  worse  than  absurd.  The 
claim  to  act  as  social  mentor  for  the  Almighty,  and 
to  pick  out  the  people  with  whom  He  may  deal  is  as 
presumptuous  as  the  claim  to  be  the  bearer  of  His 
message  to  mankind,  and  deserves  not  a  whit  more 
consideration. 

As  for  the  Book  of  Mormon,  the  case  is  purely  a 
question  of  evidence.  Its  detractors  never  have 
proved  that  the  book  was  revamped  from  "  Manu- 
script Found."  Its  believers  never  have  proved  that 
the  book  was  written  on  golden  plates  and  mirac- 
ulously translated  by  the  prophet;  and  this  would 
seem  to  be  the  greater  lapse  of  the  two.  Without 
going  so  far  as  to  adopt  the  maxim  that  miracles 
never  can  be  proved,  since  the  credibility  of  the  wit- 
nesses must  always  be  less  than  the  improbability 
of  the  event,  we  may  ask  at  least  as  much  evidence 
to  establish  a  new  revelation  as  would  be  required  to 
establish  title  to  a  contested  piece  of  real  estate.  Such 
evidence  never  has  been  offered  for  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon. The  testimony  of  the  so-called  "  witnesses " 
is  not  convincing — better  testimonials  and  more  of 
them  can  be  had  any  day  to  confirm  the  merits  of 
any  quack  medicine  on  the  market.  We  may  add  that 
the  "  reformed  Egyptian "  in  which  the  book  was 
supposed  to  be  written  is  a  language  wholly  unknown 
to  scholars,  one  of  which  no  trace  is  preserved  on 
monuments  or  papyrus. 

The  religion  Smith  founded,  as  well  as  his  recorded 
history,  shows  him  to  have  been  a  facile  borrower. 
His  mind  was  too  untrained,  his  habits  of  thought 
too  loose,  to  permit  of  plodding  devotion  to  any  of 
the  ideas  which  in  succession  possessed  him.    He  ac- 


8«  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

quired  the  patter  of  a  dozen  subjects,  and  solid  in- 
formation about  none.  Under  the  influence  of  Orson 
Hyde,  whose  scholarship  was  limitless  by  comparison 
with  Smith's  ignorance,  the  prophet  affected  a  devo- 
tion to  learning,  and  for  a  time  seemed  to  study 
violently.  Sidney  Rigdon  inspired  Smith  with  dreams 
of  illimitable  wealth  and  power;  but  Sidney's  mind 
was  as  loose  as  Smith's.  It  was  Brigham  Young  who 
brought  care  and  method  to  the  grandiose  projects  of 
the  church  leaders.  It  was  Brigham  who  knew  how 
to  move  by  practical  ways  to  a  desired  result.  Smith 
had  revelations  that  a  temple  should  be  built.  Brig- 
ham went  to  work  to  build  one.  Smith  and  others 
tried  to  call  wealth  into  existence  by  fiat,  as  in  the 
"  Bank  "  at  Kirtland.  Brigham  laid  plans  to  accumu- 
late wealth  by  commonplace  toil  and  thrift.  What- 
ever he  may  have  thought  of  the  prophet  at  their  first 
meeting,  before  his  twelve  years  of  probation  were 
over,  Brigham  was  planted  on  the  bedrock  of  his 
native  Yankee  common  sense,  and  had  returned  to 
the  original  New  England  gospel  of  work — hard  work 
for  everybody. 

It  is  thus  that  the  real  history  of  Mormonism  came 
to  be  the  biography  of  Brigham  Young.  Less  bril- 
liant, and  far  less  learned  than  many  devotees  of  the 
new  faith,  he  excelled  them  all  in  his  capacity  for 
ordered,  practical  work.  The  prophet  borrowed  from 
the  words  and  thoughts  of  others;  but  more  and  more 
as  the  years  passed,  he  leaned  on  the  works  and  deeds 
of  Brigham.  Without  Smith — and  probably  without 
Sidney  Rigdon — Mormonism  could  not  have  been 
founded.  But  without  Brigham  Young,  the  work  of 
all  his  predecessors  and  colleagues  would  have  been 
scattered  and  brought  to  naught. 


IV 

CLIMBING  THE  TOWER  OF  FAITH 

BRIGHAM  had  shown  missionary  zeal,  even  be- 
fore visiting  the  prophet.  It  was  not  likely 
that  his  ardour  would  be  lessened  by  personal 
acquaintance  with  the  source  of  divine  light  and  wis- 
dom. In  December,  1832,  shortly  after  the  death  of 
his  first  wife,  Brigham  and  his  brother  started  for 
Upper  Canada  on  a  mission.  They  went  on  foot. 
Men  of  that  day  were  better  accustomed  to  hardship 
than  city  dwellers  of  our  own  time;  but  even  with 
this  allowance,  questions  of  the  sincerity  of  Brig- 
ham's  conversion  seem  rather  idle  in  the  face  of  such 
an  expedition.  In  February,  1833,  ^^^  brothers  re- 
turned to  Mendon,  New  York,  where  they  stayed  un- 
til spring.  On  the  first  of  April,  Brigham  was  afoot 
for  Canada  once  more.  He  was  not  only  a  per- 
suasive missionary  but  a  good  colonization  agent;  in 
July  of  the  same  year  he  arrived  in  Kirtland,  bring- 
ing with  him  a  number  of  Canadian  families  whom 
he  had  converted  to  the  faith. 

After  establishing  his  Canadian  recruits  at  Kirt- 
land, Brigham  went  back  to  Mendon,  settled  his  af- 
fairs there,  and  then  with  his  two  little  daughters  and 
his  warm  friend,  Heber  Kimball,  rejoined  the  prophet 
at  the  Kirtland  "stake  of  Zion."  Here  he  settled 
down  to  his  trade  of  glazier,  preaching  from  time  to 
time  as  requested;  and  here  on  March  31,  1834,  he 
married   his   second   wife,    Mary   Ann   Angell.     A 

83 


34  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

month  later,  he  joined  in  another  expedition,  this 
time  of  a  wariike  rather  than  a  religious  char- 
acter. 

The  Mormon  settlements  in  Missouri  had  been  en- 
during trials  which  will  be  sketched  at  greater  length 
in  a  subsequent  chapter.  They  had  been  driven  from 
Jackson  county  in  November,  1833,  under  circum- 
stances calculated  to  anger  the  gentlest  people  alive. 
In  the  spring  of  1834,  Joseph  Smith  organized  an 
"  army "  for  the  purpose  of  chastising  the  Jackson 
county  mob,  and  restoring  the  Missouri  Saints  to 
their  homesteads.  Brigham  was  asked  to  go  along, 
receiving  the  prophet's  promise  that  not  a  hair  of 
his  head  should  be  harmed.  The  assurance  was 
grateful,  though  hardly  necessary  with  a  man  like 
Brigham  Young,  and  he  was  one  of  the  prophet's 
party  which  set  out  from  Kirtland  in  May. 

This  performance  illustrates  in  striking  fashion  the 
looseness  of  social  organization  and  the  weakness  of 
governmental  authority  in  that  day  and  region.  Here 
were  two  hundred  and  five  men,  more  or  less  equipped 
with  weapons  and  fully  equipped  with  military  titles, 
bound  on  a  martial  invasion  of  a  community  in  a  dis- 
tant state.  Yet  the  federal  government  seems  to 
have  taken  no  notice  of  the  matter,  neither  did  the 
state  authorities  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  Ohio,  or  even 
Missouri.  With  heavenly  signs  and  wonders  about 
them,  and  very  human  squabbles  among  them,  the 
army  of  the  Saints  crossed  three  states  and  penetrated 
well  into  Missouri  without  molestation.  Not  far  from 
Liberty,  Clay  county,  however.  Smith  received  a 
friendly  warning  to  come  no  further.  With  a 
promptitude  which  goes  far  to  acquit  him  of  the 
charge   of   rashness,    he   heeded   the   advice,   turned 


CLIMBING  THE  TOWER  OF  FAITH      35 

aside,  and  after  stopping  for  a  revelation  on  Fishing 
river,  camped  on  the  bottom  lands  of  Rush  creek. 

Here  on  June  22,  1834,  the  expedition  was  at- 
tacked by  cholera.  Smith  undertook  to  heal  the  sick 
by  prayers  and  laying  on  of  hands,  but  he  found — 
as  many  a  similar  practitioner  has  found  since — that 
such  remedies  work  best  in  the  presence  of  imaginary 
ailments.  "  I  quickly  learned  by  painful  experience 
that  when  the  great  Jehovah  decrees  destruction  upon 
any  people,  and  makes  known  his  determination,  man 
must  not  attempt  to  stay  His  hand,"  he  writes  with 
engaging  frankness.  Over  sixty  members  of  the  ex- 
pedition were  smitten  with  the  disease,  and  at  least 
thirteen  died.  This  much  punishment  having  been  in- 
flicted for  the  unspecified  sins  of  the  brethren,  prayer 
became  efficacious,  and  the  plague  was  stayed.  The 
abortive  expedition  soon  returned  to  Kirtland. 

The  trip  had  not  harmed  the  Jackson  county  mob, 
but  it  seems  to  have  been  of  decided  help  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  Brigham  Young.  Two  events  with 
their  respective  dates  are  very  enlightening  in  this 
regard.  On  February  17,  1834, — before  the  expedi- 
tion to  Missouri, — there  was  organized  at  Kirtland 
the  "  high  council "  of  the  church.  It  consisted  of 
twelve  members;  and  both  its  name  and  the  circum- 
stances of  its  choosing  indicate  that  it  was  intended 
as  a  sort  of  church  senate,  a  governing  body  supreme 
under  the  prophet. 

Brigham  was  not  chosen  one  of  the  high  council. 
He  was  not  deemed  important  enough  for  such  an 
office.  One  year  later,  in  February,  1835,  there  was 
chosen  the  Quorum,  or  Twelve  Apostles,  which  was 
raised  above  the  high  council,  and  made  second  only 
to   the  prophet.     Brigham   was   named   one   of  the 


36  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Twelve  Apostles;  and  not  only  this,  but  he  was  made 
third  in  order  of  seniority.  A  single  year,  marked 
by  genuine  hardship  and  struggle,  had  brought  the 
quiet  man  from  comparative  obscurity  to  a  place  near 
the  top  of  the  strongest  council  of  the  church. 

There  is  ground  for  suspecting  that  the  Quorum  of 
Apostles  became  a  substantial  part  of  church  govern- 
ment at  Brigham's  suggestion.  Other  signs  that  an 
organizing  mind  was  at  work  in  the  church  followed. 
In  the  same  month  of  February,  the  Seventies  were 
organized.  This  was  a  very  important  step  for  it  pro- 
vided the  working  machinery  to  manage  the  church, 
and  to  arouse  and  direct  religious  enthusiasm.  Prior 
to  the  coming  of  Brigham  Young,  whenever  Joseph 
wanted  anything  done,  he  had  a  revelation.  He  had 
a  revelation  urging  the  printer  not  to  press  for  his 
bill  when  getting  out  the  first  edition  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon,  and  another  revelation  fixing  the  price 
at  which  the  work  was  to  be  sold.  He  had  a  revela- 
tion telling  a  convert  to  sell  a  tannery,  and  turn  the 
proceeds  over  to  the  church.  He  had  a  revelation 
telling  people  to  lend  him  money,  and  other  revela- 
tions indicating  when  and  where  he  would  pay  the 
debt.  Young's  practical  mind  thought  that  such  mat- 
ters could  be  managed  without  troubling  the  Al- 
mighty, and  he  seems  to  have  pressed  this  view  to 
some  purpose. 

Not  for  nothing,  however,  does  one  bring  order 
out  of  chaos.  Herbert  Spencer's  dictum  that  some 
minds  hate  exact  measurements  is  as  true  in  theology 
as  in  cookery — though  less  frequently  put  to  the  test. 
Sidney  Rigdon  had  been  Smith's  chief  counsellor  in 
the  days  before  the  coming  of  Brigham;  and  the  bril- 
liant but  unstable  orator  could  not  view  with .  any 


BRIGHAM  YOUNG'S  EARLIEST  KNOWN  PHOTOGRAPH 

This  portrait  is  pronounced  by  well-informed  members  of  Brigham  Young's 
family  to  be  the  earliest  known  "  photograph."  No  date  is  assigned  to  it.  It 
represents  the  prophet  as  wearing  a  Masonic  emblem  in  his  shirt  front.  There 
is  a  legend  that  Brigham  was  ambitious  to  be  a  Mason  before  he  met  Joseph 
Smith  and  that  he  carried  a  Masonic  emblem.  This  picture  may  be  of  that 
period  but  it  is  probable  that  it  was  taken  after  Brigham  became  a  Mason  at 
Nauvoo.  The  Masonic  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois  granted  a  charter  for  a  Masonic 
lodge  at  Nauvoo.  Smith  immediatelj'  inducted  all  his  chief  men  into  the  order, 
making  Masons  at  sight.  For  violation  of  Masonic  rules,  the  Grand  Lodge  re- 
scinded the  charter.  Joseph  Smith  thereupon  denounced  Masonry  as  an  errone- 
ous tradition,  an  unholy  imitation  of  the  priesthood,  and  he  invented  what  has 
since  been  known  as  the  "  Endowment  Rite,"  which  he  called  the  "  true 
Masonry  as  known  to  Seth  and  Solomon  "  and  revealed  to  Smith  direct  from 
the  Almighty.  This  rite  was  administered  in  Smith's  "  Endowment "  rooms 
over  his  brick  store  at  Nauvoo. 


CLIMBING  THE  TOWER  OF  FAITH       37 

pleasure  the  steady  advance  of  his  unassuming,  bull- 
chested,  practical-minded  competitor.  Direct  infor- 
mation as  to  the  rivalry  of  this  pair  for  influence 
with  Smith  is  v^anting;  but  the  indirect  evidence  is 
plentiful  and  convincing.  There  is  the  central  fact 
that  Rigdon  lost  ground  v^hile  Young  was  gaining  it, 
from  the  beginning  of  their  acquaintance  to  their  final 
struggle  for  mastery  after  the  death  of  Joseph.  There 
is  the  steady  disparagement  of  Rigdon  by  Mormon 
writers,  a  fashion  set  by  Young  and  plainly  agreeable 
to  him.  Lastly,  and  most  amusing  of  all,  there  is  the 
peculiar  alternation  between  instances  of  the  Prophet 
Smith's  increasing  trust  in  Brigham,  and  the  calls 
which  came  for  Brigham  to  go  on  missions. 

Brigham's  elevation  to  the  quorum  of  the  Apostles 
came  on  February  14,  1835.  In  May  of  the  same 
year,  he  was  ordered  to  go  on  a  mission  to  the  "  La- 
manites,'^  or  Indians.  Joseph  promised  the  mission- 
ary that  his  work  in  this  particular  field  would  *'  open 
the  doors  to  all  the  seed  of  Joseph."  The  cryptic 
phrase  was  never  tested,  for  it  is  not  of  record  that 
Brigham  ever  reached  the  Indian  country.  Had  he 
done  so,  and  there  left  his  scalp  in  the  lodge  of  some 
heathen  "  Lamanite,"  it  is  a  reasonable  guess  that 
Sidney  Rigdon's  grief  would  have  been  purely  official. 

In  September  of  1835,  Brigham  was  back  in  Kirt- 
land,  working  at  his  trade,  working  on  the  temple, 
preaching  from  time  to  time,  pitting  his  sturdy  com- 
mon sense  against  whatever  intrigues  his  rivals  may 
have  devised.  This  quiet  life  continued  through  the 
winter.  The  temple  was  dedicated  March  27,  1836. 
Such  an  occasion  in  that  day  could  not  pass  without 
miracles.  There  were  visions,  and  outpourings,  and 
the  gift  of  tongues;  and,  perhaps  in  deference  to  this 


38  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

last  phenomenon,  the  occasion  was  called  the  Latter- 
Day  Pentecost.  The  elders  of  the  church  gathered 
for  anointings;  the  quorum  of  the  Twelve  Apostles 
was  present;  and  the  prophet  himself  conferred  on 
Brigham  Young  the  signal  honour  of  washing  his 
feet. 

It  is  not  likely  that  Brigham  expected  this  favour 
to  pass  unnoticed;  but  this  time  he  was  not  required 
to  take  chances  with  the  Lamanites.  He  was  sent  on 
a  mission  to  New  York  and  New  England;  passed 
the  summer  in  the  East,  and  returned  to  Kirtland  in 
the  fall. 


V 

AN  UNTENABLE  EDEN 

BEFORE  going  farther  with  the  history  of  Brig- 
ham  Young,  it  is  necessary  to  trace  the  course 
of  Mormon  settlement  in  Missouri. 

In  the  fall  of  1830,  Oliver  Cowdery,  Parley  P. 
Pratt,  Peter  Whitmer,  and  a  man  named  Peterson 
were  sent  by  Smith  to  preach  to  the  "  Lamanites," 
or  Indians  west  of  the  Missouri  river.  They  went, 
afoot  and  carrying  their  scanty  packs  on  their  shoul- 
ders much  of  the  way,  and  reached  Independence, 
Missouri,  in  the  spring  of  1831.  Two  of  them  went 
to  work  as  tailors  in  the  settlement.  The  other  two 
crossed  the  river  and  began  to  preach  to  the  Indians, 
but  were  turned  back  by  the  Indian  agent.  Balked 
of  their  original  purpose,  the  four  pioneers  preached 
Mormonism  to  the  settlers,  and  apparently  made  some 
converts.  But  the  preachers  became  more  enamoured 
of  the  new  land  than  their  hearers  did  of  the  new 
doctrine;  and  after  a  short  time,  Pratt  was  sent  back 
by  the  other  three  to  carry  an  account  of  this  western 
paradise  to  the  faithful  in  Kirtland. 

The  message  found  a  ready  audience.  The  west- 
ward flow  of  population  had  been  the  dominant  note 
in  American  life  for  a  generation,  and  was  to  remain 
such  for  more  than  a  generation  to  come.  Besides, 
the  Mormons  were  already  drawing  apart  as  a  pecu- 
liar people,  and  beginning  to  gather  in  compact  com- 
munities.    Kirtland  was  their  Mecca  for  the  time; 

89 


40  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

but  Kirtland  was  in  the  midst  of  a  comparatively 
well-settled  country.  Missouri  would  offer  more 
freedom  if  equally  suitable  otherwise.  The  prophet 
and  some  thirty  of  his  disciples  started  on  a  visit  of 
inspection  to  Missouri. 

Smith  and  his  followers  arrived  at  Independence 
in  July,  1 83 1.  The  prophet  approved  the  site,  de- 
clared it  was  the  original  location  of  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  issued  a  revelation  setting  forth  the  grandeur 
of  the  community  which  the  Saints  were  to  build 
there,  and  staked  out  a  site  for  a  temple.  Some  of 
his  followers  took  up  land  from  the  government  or 
from  the  state,  which  had  a  considerable  grant  in 
Jackson  county.  Others  bought  of  the  original  set- 
tlers. The  prophet  returned  to  Kirtland  in  time  to 
meet  Brigham  Young;  and  word  went  abroad  that 
the  city  of  the  Saints  was  to  be  built  in  western 
Missouri,  on  ground  hallowed  by  the  footsteps  of 
Adam  and  Eve,  before  their  primal  innocence  was 
sullied  by  worldly  wisdom  derived  from  the  Tree. 

The  tide  of  Mormon  emigration  which  set  west- 
ward seems  to  have  surprised  even  the  prophet.  The 
roving  tendency  which  even  yet  marks  the  American 
was  then  at  its  strongest;  and  the  idea  of  settling 
on  the  site  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  might  appeal  to 
any  one.  Mormons  flocked  to  Missouri — most  of 
them  very  poor — but  a  few  with  possessions  enough 
to  secure  a  comfortable  establishment  in  the  new  home. 
By  July,  1833,  there  were  1,200  Mormons  in  Jack- 
son County — one-third  of  the  total  population;  and 
destruction  was  at  hand. 

Much  ingenuity  has  been  wasted  explaining,  or 
rather,  assigning  blame  for  the  quarrel  between  Mor- 
mons and  "  Gentiles  "  in  Jackson  coimty.     The  real 


AN  UNTENABLE  EDEN  41 

cause  of  the  difficulty  is  not  far  to  seek.  A  rude  but 
aspiring  democracy  was  brought  in  contact  with  a 
rude  but  aggressive  theocracy;  and  the  two  systems 
flew  at  each  other's  throats  Hke  strange  dogs.  Had 
the  civilization  of  the  day  and  place  been  less  imper- 
fect, the  conflict  might  have  taken  a  gentler  form, 
but  it  could  not  have  been  suppressed.  Men  who  be- 
lieve that  governments  derive  their  just  powers  from 
the  consent  of  the  governed  cannot  work  in  harmony 
with  men  who  accept  the  despotic  rule  of  a  prophet 
appointed  by  the  Most  High  God.  Men  accustomed  to 
divide  and  cross-divide  on  public  questions  as  their 
whims  or  principles  or  interests  dictate,  do  not  love 
men  who  take  their  political  opinions  ready-made  from 
a  secret  conclave  of  priests.  Mormonism  and  Ameri- 
canism have  clashed  wherever  they  have  met;  and 
they  will  continue  to  clash  so  long  as  the  church  tries  to 
occupy  the  field  set  apart  in  our  land  for  the  state. 

Trouble  began  in  Jackson  county  early  in  1832; 
and  from  beginning  to  end,  the  "  Gentiles ''  seem  to 
have  been  the  aggressors.  By  1833,  matters  had 
reached  an  acute  stage.  A  mass-meeting  was  called 
July  20  at  the  court-house  in  Independence,  and  reso- 
lutions were  passed  ordering  the  Mormons  to  leave 
the  county,  pledging  the  purchase  of  their  property 
at  a  fair  price.  This  manifesto,  even  now,  does  not 
inspire  the  reader  with  much  faith  in  the  high  honour 
of  those  who  framed  it;  and  the  Mormon  disciples, 
given  fifteen  minutes  to  consent  to  exile,  very  prop- 
erly refused  compliance.  The  mob  thereupon  tarred 
and  feathered  Bishop  Partridge  and  one  of  his  co- 
workers, wrecked  the  office  of  the  church  paper. 
The  Millennial  Star,  and  repeated  their  order  for 
all  Mormons  to  leave  the  county  on  pain  of  indefinite 


42  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

but  assumedly  dire  penalties.  Three  days  later,  the 
Mormons  accepted  the  terms  of  their  enemies,  and 
moved  or  signed  an  agreement  for  moving. 

It  was  a  treaty  extorted  from  a  weaker  party  by 
lawless  force;  and  no  great  casuistry  was  used  to 
argue  away  its  binding  force  on  the  Mormons.  They 
appealed  to  the  governor  for  aid,  and  received  a  per- 
fectly correct  statement  of  their  legal  rights.  They 
appealed  to  Joseph  Smith,  and  received  a  revelation. 
Thus  encouraged  by  the  law  and  the  prophet,  the 
Mormons  stayed  on,  and  thereby  tempted  a  fate  which 
was  eager  for  temptation.  Troubles  recommenced. 
Armed  bullies  raided  isolated  Mormon  communities, 
flogged  the  men,  and  drove  out  the  women.  There 
were  a  few  skirmishes,  and  then  the  Mormons  gave 
up,  and  fled  across  the  Missouri  river  into  Clay 
county,  early  in  November.  The  sudden  move  was 
marked  by  much  hardship  and  more  pecuniary  loss, 
and  was  the  first  of  a  long  series  of  events  which 
embittered  the  leaders  of  the  church  against  Ameri- 
can institutions  in  general  and  the  state  of  Missouri 
in  particular. 

The  revelation  marking  Jackson  county  as  the  site 
chosen  by  the  Lord  for  His  city  of  Zion  has  never 
been  recalled,  superseded,  nor  forgotten.  After  four 
emigrations  and  fourscore  years,  yellow  parchment 
deeds  to  property  in  Independence  may  be  found  in 
Utah  homes;  and  more  than  one  man  high  in  the 
councils  of  the  church  to-day  boasts  that  neither  he 
nor  his  forbears  ever  relinquished  title  to  their  hold- 
ings in  the  City  of  God  in  western  Missouri. 

The  people  of  Clay  county  received  the  fugitives 
kindly,  and  condemned — as  all  law-abiding  men  must 
— the  actions  of  the  Jackson  county  mob.     Joseph 


AN  UNTENABLE  EDEN  43 

Smith  issued  several  revelations  pertaining  to  the  case, 
and  organized  the  expedition  whose  story  was  told  in 
the  last  chapter.  Mormons  flocked  into  Clay  county, 
which  at  least  had  the  advantage  of  being  near  to  the 
"Garden  of  Eden";  and  with  the  growth  of  the 
church  came  trouble.  The  old,  irrepressible  conflict 
rose  to  view  as  the  Saints  gained  numbers  and  con- 
fidence. 

Fortunately,  there  were  men  in  Clay  county  of 
higher  character  than  those  who  had  dominated  the 
councils  of  Jackson;  and  the  Mormon  leaders  had 
learned  that  fear  of  the  mob  is  sometimes  the  begin- 
ning of  safety.  A  mass-meeting  of  Gentiles  was  held 
in  June,  1836;  and  the  Mormons  were  asked  to  leave 
the  county.  "  We  do  not  contend,"  says  the  remark- 
able document  drawn  up  on  this  occasion,  "  that  we 
have  the  least  right,  under  the  constitution  and  laws 
of  the  country,  to  expel  them  [the  Mormons]  by 
force."  But,  pointing  out  the  growth  of  bitterness, 
and  the  certainty  of  armed  conflict  if  the  Mormons 
remained,  the  resolutions  asked  them  to  leave  while 
their  exit  could  be  made  in  peaceable  fashion. 

The  Mormons  consented.  A  committee  of  Clay 
county  Gentiles  was  appointed  to  raise  money  with 
which  to  buy  at  a  fair  price  the  lands  and  property 
of  such  Mormons  as  had  anything  to  sell,  and  to  help 
the  needy  in  their  emigration.  The  affair  was  con- 
ducted with  honour  and  self-control,  and  is  a  credit 
to  the  leaders  of  both  sides.  Moving  north  by  east, 
the  Mormons  entered  an  unsettled  region.  Caldwell 
county  was  organized  for  their  benefit;  the  town  of 
Far  West  was  founded,  another  stake  of  Zion  was 
set;  and  for  the  third  time,  the  weary  Saints  of  Mis- 
souri pitched  their  tents  in  temporary  peace. 


VI 

PROPHECY  AND  FINANCE 

WHILE  the  prophet's  empire  was  being 
builded  amid  trials  in  Missouri,  his  career 
in  Ohio  was  drawing  to  an  inglorious  close. 
There,  Smith  had  tried  to  establish  not  only  a  church 
and  a  political  organization,  but  divers  commercial 
enterprises,  including  a  "  bank."  Much  information 
on  many  subjects  has  been  vouchsafed  to  prophets  at 
one  time  or  another;  but  financiering  is  too  sordid, 
or  perhaps  too  exact,  a  business  to  be  conducted  by 
revelation.  Smith's  "  bank  "  eked  out  a  troubled  ex- 
istence for  less  than  a  year,  and  finally  closed  its  doors 
in  November,  1837. 

Many  better  and  more  wisely  managed  institutions 
than  this  at  Kirtland  went  to  the  wall  in  that  dis- 
astrous year;  but  Smith's  bank  failed  under  circum- 
stances which  no  glozing  can  render  creditable.  He 
had  been  refused  a  banking  charter  by  the  state  legis- 
lature, and  then,  to  evade  the  law,  reorganized  his 
financial  association  as  the  "  Kirtland  Society  Anti- 
banking  Company."  The  notes  with  this  queer  name 
on  them  were  printed  with  "  Bank  "  very  large  and 
the  rest  of  the  name  very  small — "  Anti-BANKing  " 
— by  which  trick  it  was  hoped  to  make  ordinary  peo- 
ple think  that  the  institution  was  a  bank  and  convince 
courts  that  it  was  not.  Worse — if  possible — than  this 
deceit  was  the  recklessness  with  which  notes  were 
issued  and  the  affairs  of  the  bank  conducted.     With 

4A 


PROPHECY  AND  FINANCE  46 

a  nominal  capital  of  $4,000,000  and  an  actual  paid-up 
cash  capital  of  something  under  $10,000,  Smith's 
bank  was  marked  for  destruction  from  its  birth. 

But  the  prophet  had  other  troubles  than  financial 
ones  that  year.  It  was  impossible  that  a  chance  gath- 
ering of  new  believers,  drawn  in  chief  part  from  the 
most  independent  and  undisciplined  population  on 
earth,  should  dwell  together  in  perfect  harmony,  even 
under  the  rule  of  a  prophet.  That  would  have  been 
a  miracle  indeed;  and  such  proof  of  Divine  grace 
was  lacking.  Dissensions  broke  out,  which  ripened 
into  quarrels,  and  in  1837  there  was  open  insurrec- 
tion. 

Various  grievances  were  put  forth  by  the  malcon- 
tents at  this  time.  Some  objected  to  Smith's  business 
enterprises,  or  rather  to  his  conduct  of  them.  Some 
complained  of  his  arbitrary  rule.  Some  accused  him 
of  dissolute  habits.  Probably  most  of  the  accusations 
were  true,  but  such  complaints  are  the  signs  of  dis- 
affection, not  its  cause.  Smith  was  undergoing  the 
experience  which  sooner  or  later  comes  to  almost 
every  prophet,  that  of  seeing  at  least  part  of  his  fol- 
lowers regard  him  with  the  disillusioned  gaze  of  ex- 
perience instead  of  the  fervid  eyes  of  faith;  and  he 
could  not  well  endure  the  new  method  of  inspection. 
A  young  girl,  who  had  discovered  the  art  of  extract- 
ing visions  from  a  black  stone,  prophesied  that  Smith 
would  be  deposed  for  his  transgressions,  and  that 
David  Whitmer  or  Martin  Harris  would  succeed  him 
in  the  prophetic  office.  Martin  Harris  had  printed  the 
Book  of  Mormon  at  his  own  expense,  and  David 
Whitmer  had  made  oath  that  he  saw  the  golden 
plates  from  which  Smith  had  translated  that  scrip- 
ture; yet  there  is  not  a  doubt  but  they  were  working 


46  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

for  the  fulfilment  of  the  young  woman's  predictions. 
Rebellion  had  come  in  high  places. 

Left  to  his  own  devices,  Smith  might  have  made 
terms  with  the  malcontents — thereby  ruining  himself 
and  forfeiting  his  prophetic  character.  Under  the 
counsels  of  Sidney  Rigdon,  the  prophet  would  have 
stood  firm  enough,  but  helpless  except  for  cursings 
and  revelations.  It  was  Brigham  Young  whom  Joseph 
needed,  and  Brigham  was  at  hand.  He  was  at  least 
as  despotic  in  natural  temper  as  his  chief,  and  he  had 
the  wit  to  see  that  one  who  rules  by  direct  authoriza- 
tion of  God  must  be  all  or  nothing.  No  terms  were 
made  with  the  disaffected.  Some  escaped  immediate 
excommunication,  on  account  of  the  disturbed  state 
of  business  affairs  in  the  community.  Others  who 
repented  were  received  back  into  the  fold.  But  of 
concession  on  the  part  of  the  church  authorities  there 
was  none  then — and  save  in  the  presence  of  superior 
force,  there  never  has  been  any  since.  Of  all  eccle- 
siastical organizations  in  the  Western  Hemisphere, 
the  Mormon  church  is  the  most  consistently  des- 
potic. 

Financial  troubles  thickened  fast  around  the  Kirt- 
land  stake  of  Zion.  The  "  Anti-banking  Company  " 
was  organized  in  January,  1837;  with  Joseph  as 
president  and  Sidney  Rigdon  as  secretary.  In  March, 
Smith  and  Rigdon  were  arrested  on  the  charge  of 
violating  the  banking  laws  of  the  state.  They  were 
tried  and  convicted  in  October,  but  appealed  to  a 
higher  court  on  the  ground  that  their  institution  was 
not  a  bank.  There  was  more  truth  in  this  plea  than 
either  of  them  realized;  but  the  court  never  gave  a 
ruling  upon  it. 

The  "  bank  "  closed  its  doors  in  November,  1837. 


PROPHECY  AND  FINANCE  47 

This  open  failure  and  the  overhanging  sentence  of 
the  trial  court  emboldened  Smith's  enemies  within  the 
church,  and  they  made  a  determined  effort  to  depose 
him.  Brigham  left  Kirtland  in  December.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Mormon  account,  he  was  driven  away  by 
the  mob;  but  in  view  of  the  consistent  way  in  which 
he  had  defied  and  flouted  the  mob  all  the  year,  that 
story  is  unsatisfactory.  It  is  all  we  have,  however. 
Smith  and  Rigdon  stayed  on,  fighting  the  malcon- 
tents with  no  great  success;  and  in  January,  1838, 
they,  too,  fled  from  Kirtland,  and  started  to  the  Zion 
in  Missouri.  Young  joined  the  prophet  on  the  way, 
and  they  entered  Far  West  together,  March  14,  1838. 
The  first  care  of  Joseph  and  Brigham  was  to  purge 
the  church  of  those  sinners  who  had  dared  to  raise 
their  voices  against  the  Lord's  chosen  prophet. 
Thomas  B.  Marsh,  David  W.  Patton,  and  Brigham 
Young  were  appointed  a  committee  of  three  to 
drive  apostasy  from  the  tents  of  Israel,  and  tighten 
the  reins  of  church  government.  They  performed  the 
task  in  a  manner  which  had  at  least  the  merit  of  sim- 
plicity; they  excommunicated  every  one  of  importance 
who  dared  to  protest  against  the  absolute  authority 
of  the  prophet.  Hildebrand  was  not  more  reckless 
of  consequences  in  asserting  the  supremacy  of  the 
church  than  this  committee.  Two  of  Joseph's  "  wit- 
nesses to  the  plates,"  four  members  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles,  several  men  high  among  the  Seventies,  and 
others  of  scarcely  less  importance  in  the  church  were 
excommunicated  and  cast  into  outer  darkness.  Marsh 
himself  weakened  and  apostatized  before  the  work 
was  through,  and  was  excommunicated  as  promptly 
as  if  he  were  but  an  ordinary  backslider.  The  un- 
yielding   tenacity    and    intolerant    mastership    which 


48  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

marked  Brigham  all  through  his  life  were  never  more 
apparent  than  during  this  purging  of  the  church  in 
Missouri. 

Another  piece  of  work  of  this  summer  may  fairly 
be  ascribed  to  Brigham.  This  is  the  tithing  law  which 
for  three-quarters  of  a  century  has  been  the  source 
of  the  church's  financial  strength.  Smith  and  Rigdon 
had  devised  a  chaotic  scheme  of  "  consecration  "  of 
property,  which  was  a  sort  of  religious  communism, 
neither  clearer  nor  more  workable  than  other  schemes 
of  the  same  class.  But  on  July  8,  1838,  the  rule  of 
contributions  was  fixed  at  one-tenth  of  the  property 
owned  by  the  convert  when  he  came  into  the  church  or 
when  the  law  was  announced,  and  thereafter  one-tenth 
of  his  increase  each  year.  It  was  drastic;  but  Brig- 
ham never  shrank  from  drastic  measures ;  it  was  prac- 
ticable; and  his  was  the  practical  mind  in  the  councils 
of  the  church.  The  working  out  of  this  plan  can 
hardly  be  other  than  his. 

But  even  as  the  government  and  finances  of  the 
church  were  improved,  the  storm  was  brewing  which 
which  should  sweep  it  from  the  state.  Up  to  the 
prophet's  coming,  the  Mormon  settlement  in  Caldwell 
county  had  roused  little  antagonism.  Within  that 
county,  the  Saints  had  nearly  everything  to  them- 
selves; and  without,  they  were  too  few  to  be  esteemed 
dangerous.  Smith's  arrival  brought  a  large  increase 
of  Mormon  immigration,  much  of  which  was  colo- 
nized in  Carroll  and  Daviess  counties — thereby  in- 
suring the  social  contact  which  was  bound  to  insure 
hostility.  Smith's  grandiloquent  pretensions  did  not 
calm  the  rising  alarm  of  the  Gentiles  as  they  saw  the 
increase  of  the  Saints;  and  the  drastic  church  dis- 
cipline enforced  by  Brigham  Young's  "  commission 


PROPHECY  AND  FINANCE  49 

of  faith "  could  not  have  helped  matters.  Sidney 
Rigdon  was  much  blamed  by  some  of  the  Mormons 
at  a  later  day  for  his  famous  "  salt  sermon/'  in  which 
he  vowed  that  the  Mormons  would  not  be  driven  from 
their  homes  again  without  bloodshed;  but  the  present 
writers  are  unable  to  see  that  this  sermon  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  resulting  trouble.  Rigdon  ex- 
pressed a  perfectly  proper  sentiment  in  a  needlessly 
provocative  way.  But  a  peace  so  tenuous  that  it  is 
shattered  by  such  a  trifling  indiscretion  cannot  be  pre- 
served long  in  a  world  where  everything  must  bide 
the  stress  of  circumstance — or  fail  altogether. 

Trouble  began  on  August  6,  at  Gallatin.  The  state 
election  then  took  place  on  that  date;  and  some  Mor- 
mons, going  to  Gallatin  to  vote,  were  stopped  by  a 
group  of  Gentiles.  There  was  language  and  breaking 
of  heads,  but  no  serious  injury  was  done;  and  the 
Mormons  seem  to  have  voted  at  the  end  of  the  fray. 
Instead  of  ignoring  the  disturbance,  as  any  sensible 
man  in  his  position  would  have  done.  Smith  collected 
at  Far  West  a  band  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  on  horse- 
back, and  went  to  the  "  relief  "  of  the  brethren  in 
Daviess  county.  The  brethren  did  not  need  relief; 
but  Smith  came  across  a  justice  of  the  peace  who  had 
been  active  in  opposition  to  the  Mormons,  and  bullied 
him  into  signing  a  paper  which  nothing  less  than 
prophetic  wisdom  is  competent  to  interpret.  As  soon 
as  Smith  had  returned  to  Far  West,  the  Daviess 
county  Gentiles  swore  out  warrants  for  him  and  some 
of  his  followers  on  the  ground  of  entering  another 
county  in  armed  array  and  threatening  a  judicial  offi- 
cer— Adam  Black.  After  some  demur,  the  accused 
surrendered  and  were  bound  over  in  bail  to  a  hearing, 
September  7. 


50  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

But  the  mischief  was  done.  The  county  divided 
into  two  armed  camps.  Skirmishes  took  place  with 
the  usual  great  cry  and  little  wool  of  militia  opera- 
tions, and  the  newly  elected  Governor  Boggs  called 
out  the  state  troops.  These  were  placed  under  Gen- 
eral Doniphan,  who  afterwards  won  fame  in  the 
Mexican  war,  and  his  tact  and  skill  soon  brought 
about  a  more  quiet  feeling  in  Daviess  county. 
Then  the  Gentiles  of  Carroll  county  began  to  arm 
and  form  plans  for  expelling  the  Mormons.  An  at- 
tack was  made  on  the  Mormon  settlement  of  De- 
witt.  After  a  comic  opera  bombardment  and  a 
Venezuela-like  exchange  of  proclamations,  the  Mor- 
mons agreed  to  evacuate  Dewitt  on  condition  of  re- 
ceiving payment  for  their  improvements,  and  permis- 
sion to  return  to  Far  West.  This  was  granted.  It 
is  worth  noting  that  the  governor  had  refused  to  pro- 
tect the  Mormons  of  this  settlement. 

The  Mormons  now  were  gathered  in  two  chief 
settlements,  Far  West  and  another  town  which  stag- 
gered under  the  title  of  "  Adam-ondi-Ahman."  The 
Gentiles  had  retired  from  the  open  countryside  to  a 
number  of  towns  which  were  regularly  patrolled  by 
sentries.  Society  had  dissolved  in  a  border  war  like 
that  which,  perchance,  the  common  ancestors  of  both 
parties  once  waged  across  the  Tweed;  or  that  which 
sons  of  the  Gentiles  concerned  were  destined  to  wage 
a  generation  later  on  the  Kansas  line.  Three  com- 
panies of  regulars  would  have  driven  both  camps  into 
the  Missouri  river;  but  the  regulars  were  not  to  be 
had.  Captain  David  W.  Patten  at  the  head  of  a  little 
troop  of  Mormons  performed  the  only  noteworthy 
exploit  of  the  "  w^ar "  by  routing  a  much  superior 
force  of  Gentiles  at  Crooked  River;  but  he  was  killed 


PROPHECY  AND  FINANCE  61 

in  the  fight,  and  the  resentment  roused  at  the  defeat 
of  state  troops  by  Mormon  partisans  far  outbalanced 
the  advantages  of  the  victory. 

The  "  battle  "  of  Crooked  River  was  fought  Octo- 
ber 25,  1838.  Two  days  later,  Governor  Boggs  issued 
his  famous  order  to  General  Clark,  commanding  a 
part  of  the  militia,  telling  him  that  the  Mormons  must 
"  be  exterminated  or  driven  from  the  state."  It  was 
not  necessary  to  carry  out  these  sanguinary  orders. 
After  some  time  spent  in  parley.  Far  West  sur- 
rendered to  General  Lucas  before  Clark  could  arrive. 
Smith,  Rigdon,  and  several  other  prominent  Mor- 
mons were  given  up  as  "  hostages,"  and  were  thrown 
into  jail.  Forty-six  others  were  arrested  a  little  later 
by  General  Clark,  who  informed  the  Mormon  colo- 
nists that  they  must  leave  the  state  at  once,  on  pain 
of  "  extermination."  That  word  seems  to  have  been 
a  favourite  among  the  statesmen  and  soldiers  who 
had  charge  of  affairs  in  Missouri  at  this  time. 

Before  Far  West  surrendered,  there  occurred  a 
massacre  which  gave  a  sinister  meaning  to  the  ver- 
bose threats  of  Governor  Boggs  and  his  militia  officer. 
On  October  30,  a  considerable  party  of  Missourians 
attacked  the  Mormon  settlement  at  Hawn's  Mill. 
The  Mormons  took  refuge  in  a  log  blacksmith  shop. 
The  Missourians  surrounded  the  shop,  and  poured 
a  fire  through  the  cracks  between  the  logs,  until  every 
one  within  the  enclosure  was  dead  or  wounded.  Then 
they  broke  in  the  door,  butchered  some  of  the  sur- 
vivors with  any  implement  handy,  and  ended  by 
throwing  dead  and  wounded  together  into  a  nearby 
well.  Some  of  the  wounded  were  rescued  from  the 
well  by  friends  from  Far  West,  and  they  ultimately 
recovered;  but  all  told,  more  than  twenty  Mormons 


52  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

lost  their  lives  in  this  affair.  The  Missourians  did 
not  lose  a  man. 

It  was  an  utterly  unjustifiable  massacre.  The  men 
who  perpetrated  it  were  legitimate  progenitors  of 
those  "  border  ruffians  "  who  established  a  reign  of 
terror  along  the  Kansas  line  twenty  years  later.  The 
historical  responsibility  for  this  massacre  must  rest 
on  Governor  Boggs.  He  was  justified  in  calling  out 
the  militia  to  restore  order;  he  was  justified  in  taking 
any  measures  necessary  to  break  up  the  theocracy 
which  Smith  had  established  in  one  county  of  the 
state,  and  was  endeavouring  to  extend  to  all  neigh- 
bouring districts.  But  the  governor's  inflammatory 
language  and  open  partisanship  were  a  direct  incite- 
ment to  such  multiple  murders  as  this  of  Hawn's 
Mill,  and  a  direct  encouragement  to  the  lawlessness 
which  remained  so  long  the  curse  of  Missouri.  The 
Mormons  and  their  un-American  theocracy  vanished; 
but  the  anarchy  excused  and,  indeed,  commended,  in 
high  places,  endured  for  more  than  a  generation. 

Brigham  Young  passed  unscathed  through  all  these 
stirring  scenes.  He  was  a  consistent  champion  of  the 
prophet,  a  prominent  figure  in  the  church,  and  neither 
then  nor  later  did  he  shirk  his  due  share  of  danger. 
Yet  for  the  moment  Gentile  hostility  almost  neglected 
him.  He  was  not  shot,  he  was  not  named  in  any 
list  of  proscribed  exiles,  he  was  not  even  thrown  into 
jail.  Dozens  of  less  important  men  among  the  Saints 
were  awarded  this  honour,  but  somehow  Young  was 
passed  by.  He  was  present  when  Joseph  Smith  and 
others  were  given  up  as  "  hostages,"  but  the  eyes  of 
the  Gentile  commander  were  held,  and  he  did  not  see 
that  a  greater  than  Joseph  remained  at  large.  Small 
wonder  that  a  people  like  the  Mormons,  who  lived  in 


PROPHECY  AND  FINANCE  63 

the  midst  of  signs  and  wonders  and  interpositions  of 
Providence,  came  to  believe  that  Brigham  Young  was 
miraculously  preserved  to  be  the  leader  and  saviour  of 
his  persecuted  people*  in  the  yet  greater  trials  which 
lay  before  thm. 


VII 
NAUVOO  THE  BEAUTIFUL 

JOSEPH  SMITH  was  not  only  prophet,  seer,  and 
revelator,  but  president  of  the  church.  Hyrum 
Smith  and  Sidney  Rigdon  were  at  this  time  coun- 
sellors to  the  president,  the  three  forming  what  is 
known  as  the  First  Presidency.  With  this  supreme 
governing  body  in  jail,  active  control  of  church  affairs 
fell  to  the  Twelve  Apostles,  and  at  this  same  time, 
Brigham  Young  succeeded  to  the  headship  of  that 
body.  Of  his  two  seniors,  Thomas  B.  Marsh  had 
apostatized  and  David  Patten  had  been  killed  at 
Crooked  River.  Brigham,  protected  by  good  fortune 
and  immune  from  apostasy,  was  for  the  moment  the 
active  head  of  the  church. 

To  a  man  who  cared  for  ecclesiastical  preferment 
and  believed  in  the  future  of  Mormonism,  it  was  a 
fine  opportunity.  Brigham  never  doubted  the  per- 
manency and  glory  of  the  church,  and  priestly  power 
had  become  the  breath  of  his  nostrils.  But  he  had 
no  notion  of  using  his  chance  to  secure  rulership  of 
Zion.  From  the  day  when  he  spoke  in  tongues  at 
Kirtland,  Brigham  had  been  the  firm  upholder  of 
Joseph's  power,  prerogatives,  and  prophetic  dignity; 
and  he  did  not  weaken,  even  under  this  temptation. 
He  worked  with  the  Saints  in  Missouri,  doing  all  he 
could  to  lessen  their  suffering  and  organize  the 
exodus, — and  spent  his  spare  moments  consulting  with 
Joseph  and  devising  plans  for  the  prophet's  release. 

54 


NAUVOO  THE  BEAUTIFUL  65 

These  plans  came  to  nothing.  Sidney  Rigdon  was 
freed  on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus — ^perhaps  because  his 
captors  had  learned  how  unimportant  the  fiery  ex- 
horter  was — and  he  lost  no  time  in  puttting  the  Miss- 
issippi river  between  himself  and  "  Missouri  jus- 
tice." Later  in  the  same  month,  Brigham  was  obliged 
to  make  a  hurried  exit,  and  joined  his  old  rival  at 
Quincy,  Illinois. 

An  informal  meeting  of  such  members  of  the 
Twelve  as  remained  faithful  and  such  other  Saints 
as  were  within  reach  was  held  at  Quincy,  March  17, 
1839.  The  condition  of  the  church  was  desperate. 
Its  prophet  was  in  prison,  its  western  home  was  in 
the  hands  of  its  enemies,  apostasy  within  and  assault 
without  threatened  the  whole  structure  of  faith.  The 
people  had  lost  nearly  all  their  property,  and  were, 
making  their  escape  from  an  inhospitable  state  under 
conditions  of  suffering  seldom  equalled  in  a  civilized 
land  in  time  of  peace.  Marching  without  supplies  in 
the  dead  of  winter,  making  tents  of  their  bedcloth- 
ing — when  they  had  any — straggling  over  the  Iowa 
line,  crossing  the  Mississippi  on  the  ice — the  followers 
of  the  prophet  who  remained  true  to  his  cause  seemed 
more  in  condition  to  plead  for  charity  than  to  assert 
dominion. 

But  Brigham,  who  was  real  chief  of  the  meeting 
in  spite  of  the  presence  of  Rigdon,  never  wavered. 
His  priestly  pride  was  as  fierce  and  intolerant  as  if 
he  had  behind  him  a  hierarchy  of  immemorial  an- 
tiquity, instead  of  the  disheartened  followers  of  a 
backwoods  crystal-gazer,  who  had  gone  into  the  rev- 
elation business  a  scant  dozen  years  before.  Brigham 
advised  the  people  to  find  some  spot  in  Illinois  where 
they  could  build  their  Zion,  urged  and  carried  the  ex- 


56  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

communication  of  some  members  who  had  failed  in 
recent  trials,  sent  aid  to  the  faithful  still  in  Missouri, 
and  generally  took  charge  of  everything.  The  Saints 
were  well  served  that  in  this  hour  of  difficulty  the 
supreme  command  was  held  by  the  clear-headed,  prac- 
tical Brigham,  rather  than  by  the  eruptive  Joseph,  or 
the  discouraged  Sidney. 

On  April  6,  1839,  the  ninth  anniversary  of  the 
church,  Smith  was  taken  from  jail  for  trial,  secured 
a  change  of  venue,  and  shortly  after  was  permitted  to 
escape.  He  reached  Quincy  April  22,  and  at  once 
assumed  leadership.  Plans  for  a  new  Zion  were 
forthcoming  without  delay.  The  town  of  Commerce, 
Illinois,  was  chosen  as  a  site,  its  name  was  changed 
to  Nauvoo — after  a  non-existent  Hebrew  word  sup- 
posed to  mean  "  beautiful  " — large  land  purchases  were 
made,  and  the  fourth  eternal  stake  of  Zion  was  set. 

Smith  had  the  active  support  of  Young  in  this 
project  for  a  new  Zion.  Bishop  Partridge  advised 
strongly  against  trying  to  collect  the  Saints  together 
into  one  place.  Sidney  Rigdon  seems  to  have  agreed 
with  Partridge,  and  certainly  advised  against  the  land 
purchases  actually  made.  In  this  emergency,  Rigdon 
was  for  once  a  better  counsellor  than  Brigham.  The 
reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  Rigdon  knew  when  he  was 
whipped.    Brigham  did  not. 

Almost  the  moment  that  Smith  arrived  at  Quincy, 
Brigham  and  his  companions  of  the  Quorum  of 
Apostles  were  off  to  Missouri  on  a  secret  mission. 
Smith  had  given  a  revelation  the  year  before  that  on 
April  26,  1839,  th^  Twelve  Apostles  should  meet  at 
Far  West,  recommence  laying  the  foundations  of  the 
temple,  and  from  that  point  start  across  the  great 
waters  to  convert  the  world.    Brigham  and  his  fellow 


NAUVOO  THE  BEAUTIFUL  67 

Apostles  were  determined  that  this  revelation  should 
be  fulfilled.  Hiding  in  a  nearby  grove  till  night,  the 
Apostles  then  slipped  into  the  deserted  town  of  Far 
West  and  proceeded  to  the  temple  block.  They  *'  re- 
commenced laying  the  foundations  "  by  rolling  a  big 
stone  to  one  corner  of  the  temple,  had  prayers,  sang 
a  few  hymns,  excommunicated  a  few  sinners — for 
that  was  an  important  part  of  a  hierarch's  duties  in 
those  trying  days — and  then  vanished  before  the  bel- 
ligerent Gentiles  were  awake. 

The  tale  is  told  by  Mormon  writers  as  a  striking 
fulfilment  of  prophecy,  and  a  proof  of  the  courage 
and  loyalty  of  the  Twelve.  To  us,  it  seems  rather  to 
illustrate  the  extent  to  which  sensible  men  can  trick 
themselves  with  words;  and  the  meagre  returns  that 
are  accepted,  as  payment  of  golden  promises,  when 
those  promises  are  made  in  the  name  of  supernatural 
authority. 

After  this  episode,  which  was  saved  from  absurdity 
only  by  the  deadly  seriousness  of  those  concerned  in 
it,  the  Twelve  returned  to  Nauvoo.  But  they  did  not 
proceed  at  once  on  their  mission  across  the  waters. 
The  beginnings  of  a  new  Zion  were  not  propitious. 
The  lower  part  of  the  town  site  was  swampy,  afford- 
ing harbour  to  innumerable  mosquitoes,  and  these  of 
course,  carried  malaria.  Deaths  among  the  new- 
comers were  numerous,  and  there  were  times  in  late 
summer  when  half  the  population  were  shaking  or 
burning  in  the  alternations  of  the  disease.  Joseph  tried 
his  hand  at  faith-healing,  and  Brigham  testified  that 
he  was  made  whole  at  the  prophet's  command.  The 
value  of  this  testimony  may  be  gauged  by  the  well- 
proven  fact  that  a  little  later  he  was  carried  on  a 
mattress  to  the  house  of  his  friend,  Heber  Kimball, 


68  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

and  remained  there  four  days  in  bed,  constantly 
nursed  by  his  wife. 

The  Plasmodium  mcdaricB  knows  no  prophet  but 
quinine. 

If  Brigham  was  wrong  in  countenancing  the  build- 
ing of  Nauvoo,  he  was  right  in  seeing  that  to  make 
a  workable  Zion  the  prophet  must  have  less  disputa- 
tious and  refractory  converts  than  those  gathered 
from  the  turbulent  settlements  of  the  Mississippi 
valley.  Heber  Kimball  had  achieved  remarkable  suc- 
cess in  his  British  mission  of  1837,  and  he  longed  to 
have  Brigham  accompany  him  to  that  land  again. 
The  time  had  come  to  put  Heber 's  judgment  to  the 
test.  While  still  so  weak  with  fever  that  the  first  stage 
of  the  journey  was  made  on  a  mattress,  Brigham 
started  in  September,  1839,  on  his  delayed  mission, 
accompanied  by  six  other  members  of  the  Quorum. 
They  stopped  by  the  way,  especially  in  Kirtland;  and 
Brigham  spent  the  winter  in  New  York.  On  April 
6,  1840, — the  great  church  anniversary  once  more — he 
landed  in  England. 

During  Kimball's  mission  in  1837,  it  was  claimed 
that  nearly  two  thousand  persons  had  been  converted 
to  the  faith  of  Joseph  Smith.  This  record  was  quickly 
surpassed  by  the  mission  of  Brigham  and  his  fellow 
Apostles.  From  whatever  cause,  there  was  in  Britain 
a  large  element  in  a  state  of  waiting.  If  their  re- 
ligious instability  was  less  than  that  of  people  in  the 
Mississippi  valley,  their  religious  eagerness  was  even 
greater,  and  distance  lent  enchantment  to  the  view. 
They  accepted  the  Mormon  message  as  an  answer  to 
their  prayers  and  hopes.  The  zeal  of  the  exhorter 
met  the  zeal  of  the  devotee;  and  instead  of  waiting  to 
be  argued  into  acceptance  of  the  new  faith,  scores  and 


NAUVOO  THE  BEAUTIFUL  69 

hundreds  boasted  of  their  instant  conversions.  To 
this  day,  when  other  reasons  fail,  the  descendants  of 
these  same  people  fall  back  on  the  family  claim  that 
their  ancestors  had  a  revelation  from  God  that  the 
gospel  preached  by  the  missionaries  of  Joseph  was 
the  truth. 

A  few  instances  may  help  to  set  the  picture  of  that 
mission  before  the  reader.  John  Taylor,  an  English- 
man of  good  birth  and  breeding,  was  reared  in  the 
Anglican  church.  Wishing  a  more  active  organiza- 
tion, he  joined  the  Methodists  while  in  his  teens,  and 
became  a  well-known  preacher  of  that  denomination 
in  Canada.  There  he  heard  the  Mormon  gospel,  be- 
came converted,  and  returned  to  carry  the  message  to 
his  old  friends  in  England. 

Taylor's  wife  was  the  daughter  of  an  old  Manx 
family;  and  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  legends  and  tradi- 
tions of  the  supernatural  are  a  necessary  part  of  the 
household  furniture.  This  family  had  a  legend  to 
fit  the  case.  A  sister-in-law  of  Taylor  accepted  his 
preaching  of  Mormonism  as  fulfilment  of  a  tra- 
dition of  her  race  that  some  day  a  messenger 
under  the  command  of  God  should  bring  the  true 
gospel  out  of  the  west,  and  that  the  same  should 
raise  their  house  to  great  power  and  glory.  This 
strong-minded  lady  brought  her  whole  family  into  the 
church,  and  with  her  surplus  means,  she  emigrated 
a  large  number  of  the  poorer  Saints. 

Another  anecdote  of  the  early  times:  John  Lamont, 
a  Scotch  miner  well  versed  in  the  "  metapheesics  "  of 
Calvinism,  and  noted  all  through  the  region  for  his 
continuity  as  well  as  skill  in  debate,  was  present  at 
a  meeting  addressed  by  one  of  the  Mormon  mission- 
aries.    One  over-zealous  Calvinist  was  rude  in  his 


60  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

opposition  to  the  new  gospel.  Lamont  rebuked  him 
for  violating  the  rules  of  discussion,  and  in  turn  was 
twitted  by  his  fellow  miners:  "Jock,  ye're  in  a  fair 
way  o'  becoming  a  Mormon  yoursel' !  " 

"I?  Never!"  shouted  Lamont.  "Til  deny  me 
God  first!" 

A  week  later,  Lamont  was  baptized  in  the  Mormon 
faith,  and  gave  his  testimony  in  the  Mormon  meet- 
ing. Then  some  of  his  friends  taunted  him:  "Did 
ye  no  say,  Jock,  that  before  ye'd  join  the  Mormons, 
ye'd  deny  your  God  ?  '* 

"  I  did,"  retorted  the  unabashed  controversialist. 
"  My  God  was  a  useless,  helpless  figment  o'  man's 
mind,  without  body,  parts,  or  passions.  I  have  de- 
nied that  devilish  error.  I  now  have  the  one  true 
God,  the  Father  o'  all  mankind,  a  glorious  personage 
who  was  once  a  man  like  myself ! " 

That  conversion  of  John  Lamont  and  his  quick 
reply  to  his  former  companions  were  counted  among 
the  latter-day  miracles.  In  fact,  to  those  early  work- 
ers in  the  British  field  everything  was  a  miracle.  If 
a  man  were  converted  from  some  other  church,  God 
had  miraculously  opened  his  eyes  to  the  truth.  If  he 
had  been  an  infidel  and  blasphemer  of  all  churches, 
that  but  made  more  manifest  the  power  and  purpose  of 
the  Almighty  to  make  Joseph  Smith  at  once  pope  and 
emperor  of  the  world.  Under  pressure  of  this  con- 
tagious excitement,  families  and  neighbourhoods  be- 
gan to  vie  with  each  other  in  having  miraculous 
conversions;  and  the  chief  work  of  some  Mormon 
missionaries  was  to  baptize  and  instruct  the  droves 
who  came  to  offer  themselves  as  disciples  of  the  un- 
seen prophet. 

But  Brigham's  mission  was  more  than  an  effort  to 


NAUVOO  THE  BEAUTIFUL  61 

secure  converts.  It  was  also  a  most  efficient  coloniza- 
tion agency.  Up  to  the  time  a  man  was  baptized  into 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints,  the 
church  had  worked  for  him.  It  was  now  his  turn  to 
work  for  the  church — and  so  long  as  Brigham  had 
anything  to  do  with  Mormon  affairs,  that  work  was 
performed.  The  proper  place  to  perform  this  redeem- 
ing labour,  of  course,  was  in  the  chosen  Zion,  which 
for  the  moment  was  Nauvoo.  Brigham  began  send- 
ing his  converts  to  America  almost  at  once.  The  first 
company,  forty-one  in  number,  sailed  exactly  two 
months  after  Brigham  landed.  Two  hundred  more 
followed  in  September,  one  hundred  and  thirty  ac- 
companied Brigham  on  his  return,  and  several  com- 
panies came  during  the  year  1841.  Zion  was  being 
built  by  the  works  of  the  faithful,  rather  than  by  the 
dreams  of  the  prophet. 

The  result  of  Brigham's  missionary  activity  is  best 
told  in  his  own  words: 

"  We  landed  ...  as  strangers  in  a  strange  land, 
and  penniless,  but  through  the  mercy  of  God  we  have 
gained  many  friends,  established  churches  in  almost 
every  noted  city  and  town  of  Great  Britain,  baptized 
between  7,000  and  8,000  souls,  printed  5,000  Books  of 
Mormon,  3,000  hymn  books,  2,500  volumes  of  The  Mil- 
lennial Star  and  50,000  tracts,  emigrated  to  Zion  1,000 
souls,  establishing  a  permanent  shipping  agency  which 
will  be  a  great  blessing  to  the  Saints,  and  have  left 
sown  in  the  hearts  of  many  thousands  the  seeds  of 
eternal  life  which  shall  bring  forth  fruit  to  the  honour 
and  glory  of  God;  and  yet  we  have  lacked  nothing  to 
eat,  drink  or  wear;  in  all  these  things  I  acknowledge 
the  hand  of  God." 

After  the  fervid  tales  of  miracles  and  instantaneous 


6S  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

conversions,  this  report  comes  like  a  refreshing  breath 
of  cold  air.  In  spite  of  the  pious  language  with 
which  it  is  besprinkled,  this  is  not  the  rhapsody  of  a 
zealot,  nor  the  "  testimony  "  of  an  enraptured  vision- 
ary. It  is  the  report  of  a  business  agent  to  the  cor- 
poration which  sent  him  forth  on  a  difficult  task, 
which  he  has  performed  in  superb  fashion. 

Brigham  with  five  companions  and  one  hundred  and 
thirty  converts  sailed  for  New  York  on  April  20, 
1 841.  On  July  I,  they  arrived  at  Nauvoo.  Brig- 
ham  made  his  report,  and  had  his  season  of  com- 
munion with  the  prophet.  Eight  days  later,  Joseph 
had  the  following  significant  revelation: 

"  Dear  and  well-beloved  brother,  Brigham  Young, 
verily  thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  you,  my  servant  Brig- 
ham, it  is  no  more  required  at  your  hands  to  leave 
your  family  as  in  times  past,  for  your  offering  is  ac- 
ceptable to  me;  I  have  seen  your  labours  and  toil  in 
journeying  for  my  name. 

"  I  therefore  command  you  to  send  my  word 
abroad,  and  take  special  care  of  your  family  from  this 
time,  henceforth  and  forever.     Amen.'* 

The  most  contumacious  Gentile  will  admit  that  this 
is  one  revelation  which  Brigham  never  transgressed. 
His  family  received  his  very  especial  care  to  the  last 
hour  of  his  life. 

What  Sidney  Rigdon  thought  of  this  Divine 
authority  for  Brigham  to  stay  at  home  is  not  re- 
corded. 


VIII 
THE  GLORY  OF  MANY  WIVES 

DURING  the  sojourn  at  Nauvoo,  the  best- 
known  feature  of  the  new  religion  was  made 
known  to  the  church — or  at  least  to  a  few 
of  its  members.  This  is  the  doctrine  of  polygamy. 
From  the  hour  that  polygamy  became  a  recognized 
part  of  Mormonism,  it  has  almost  monopolized  Gen- 
tile discussion  of  that  creed;  and  to-day,  when  the 
religion  of  Joseph  Smith  is  mentioned,  the  responding 
thought  in  the  mind  of  nearly  every  hearer  is  plurality 
of  wives.  The  present  writers  consider  this  tenet 
merely  one  of  several  which  make  the  Mormon  church 
a  thing  apart;  but  it  is  an  important  one,  and  well 
worthy  of  careful  study. 

Mormon  polygamy  cannot  be  understood,  except 
in  connection  with  the  doctrine  of  "  celestial  mar- 
riage," of  which  plurality  of  wives  is  a  part.  Mor- 
monism is  ancestor  worship.  In  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints,  salvation  depends  not 
upon  faith,  but  upon  offspring.  The  following  sum- 
mary of  the  doctrine  of  "  celestial  marriage  "  is  as 
nearly  exact  as  any  statement  can  be  made  on  a  sub- 
ject with  which  theologians  are  yet  busy. 

1.  Marriage  must  be  contracted  for  eternity,  or 
it  is  not  binding  in  the  spirit  world. 

2.  Persons  who  have  not  married  for  eternity  on 
earth  cannot  be  so  married  hereafter.  Such  persons 
occupy  inferior  places  as  "  ministering  angels,"  i.e., 

03 


64.  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

heavenly  clerks  and  waiters,  to  their  more  fortunate 
fellows  who  have  fulfilled  the  "  new  and  everlasting 
covenant "  of  celestial  marriage. 

3.  Persons  who  have  married  for  time  and  eter- 
nity under  a  sealing  by  the  prophet's  authority,  retain 
their  marital  relations  in  the  next  world.  They  be- 
come, not  "  as  "  gods,  but  actual  gods  unto  the  fruit 
of  their  loins. 

4.  As  illustrating  the  last  statement,  Brigham 
Young  said  in  a  sermon  that  the  only  god  who  con- 
cerned mankind  was  Adam,  of  whose  seed  are  all 
the  generations  of  the  earth.    Adam  was  a  polygamist. 

5.  The  highest  salvation — or  true  godship — is  re- 
served for  those  who  have  entered  the  practice  of 
polygamy.  Since  a  man  becomes  a  god  to  his  de- 
scendants, the  more  descendants,  the  higher  the  god- 
ship.  Women  who  have  helped  him  attain  this  higher 
estate  shine  in  the  heavens  by  his  reflected  glory. 

6.  Women  who  have  not  married  and  borne  chil- 
dren occupy  an  inferior  place  in  the  next  world,  lower 
than  that  assigned  to  celibate  men. 

7.  Marriage  is  not  only  a  means  of  heavenly  ad- 
vancement, but  it  is  a  duty.  Space  is  peopled  with 
spirits  waiting  to  put  on  a  tabernacle  of  flesh.  This 
is  necessary  to  their  progress,  and  they  are  willing 
to  enter  the  gates  of  birth  by  the  most  ignoble  route, 
rather  than  not  be  born  at  all.  They  even  haunt 
houses  of  ill-fame,  hoping  to  receive  the  endowments 
of  flesh. 

The  revelation  establishing  polygamy  is  dated  at 
Nauvoo,  July  12,  1843.  This,  however,  is  merely  the 
date  on  which  this  peculiar  word  of  the  Lord  was  re- 
duced to  writing,  not  the  time  at  which  it  was  first 
made  known.    Joseph  F.  Smith,  present  head  of  the 


THE  GLORY  OF  MANY  WIVES  65 

Mormon  church,  and  nephew  of  the  prophet,  declares 
that  the  original  revelation  on  polygamy  was  given 
to  his  inspired  uncle  about  the  year  1831.  At  about 
that  date,  Joseph  often  remarked  that  the  brethren 
would  take  his  life  if  he  dared  to  tell  them  the  new 
truths  which  God  was  making  plain  unto  him.  This 
may  mean  that  he  was  already  incubating  the  scheme 
of  polygamy,  or  it  may  mean  only  that  Joseph  thought 
this  mysterious  phrase  would  sound  well,  and  help  to 
keep  his  followers  in  awe.  His  patter  was  as  ready 
and  clever  as  that  of  an  experienced  conjurer,  and 
often  had  about  as  much  connection  with  the  matter 
in  hand. 

There  is  good  ground  for  believing  that  the  practice 
of  polygamy  began  at  Kirtland.  The  charge  was 
freely  circulated  against  the  Saints  in  that  region; 
and — ^unlike  such  a  commonplace  matter  as  horse- 
stealing— it  is  not  the  kind  of  accusation  that  jealous 
neighbours  would  be  likely  to  invent.  In  1835,  the 
church  put  forth  at  Kirtland  a  formal  denial  of  polyg- 
amy; itself  rather  suspicious  in  the  light  of  recent 
events.  Two  years  later,  April  29,  1837,  the  presi- 
dents of  Seventies  passed  a  resolution  that  they  would 
not  hold  fellowship  with  any  elder  who  was  guilty  of 
polygamy.  This  would  imply  that  some  elders  were 
admittedly  guilty  of  polygamous  practices  at  this  time, 
unless  we  make  the  rather  far-fetched  assumption  that 
the  high-sounding  term  of  "  polygamy  "  was  applied 
to  chance  cases  of  sexual  irregularity. 

The  more  important  parts  of  the  revelation  are  as 
follows : 

(Verses  quoted  as  in  book) 
I,  Verily,  thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  you,  my  servant 


66  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Joseph,  that  inasmuch  as  you  have  inquired  of  my  hand, 
to  know  and  understand  wherein  I,  the  Lord,  justified 
my  servants  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob;  as  also  Moses, 
David  and  Solomon,  my  servants,  as  touching  the  prin- 
ciple and  doctrine  of  their  having  many  wives  and 
concubines  ; 

2.  Behold!  and  lo,  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  will 
answer  thee  as  touching  this  matter: 

15.  Therefore,  if  a  man  marry  himself  a  wife  in  the 
world,  and  he  marry  her  not  by  me,  nor  by  my  word; 
and  he  covenant  with  her  so  long  as  he  is  in  the  world 
and  she  with  him,  their  covenant  and  marriage  are  not 
of  force  when  they  are  dead,  and  when  they  are  out  of 
the  world;  therefore,  they  are  not  bound  by  any  law 
when  they  are  out  of  the  world; 

16.  Therefore,  when  they  are  out  of  the  world,  they 
neither  marry,  nor  are  given  in  marriage;  but  are  ap- 
pointed angels  in  heaven,  which  angels  are  ministering 
servants,  to  minister  for  those  who  are  worthy  of  a  far 
more,  and  an  exceeding,  and  an  eternal  weight  of  glory ; 

17.  For  these  angels  did  not  abide  my  law,  therefore 
they  cannot  be  enlarged,  but  remain  separately  and 
singly,  without  exaltation,  in  their  saved  condition,  to 
all  eternity,  and  from  henceforth  are  not  Gods,  but  are 
angels  of  God,  for  ever  and  ever. 

19.  And  again,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  if  a  man  marry 
a  wife  by  my  word,  which  is  my  law,  and  by  the  new  and 
everlasting  covenant,  and  it  is  sealed  unto  them  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  by  him  who  is  anointed,  unto 
whom  I  have  appointed  this  power,  and  the  keys  of  this 
Priesthood ;  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  ye  shall  come 
forth  in  the  first  resurrection ;  and  if  it  be  after  the  first 
resurrection,  in  the  next  resurrection;  and  shall  inherit 
thrones,  kingdoms,  principalities,  and  powers,  dominions, 
all  heights  and  depths  .   ,   . 


THE  GLORY  OF  MANY  WIVES  67 

20.  Then  shall  they  be  Gods,  because  they  have  no 
end;  therefore  shall  they  be  from  everlasting  to  ever- 
lasting, because  they  continue;  then  shall  they  be  above 
all,  because  all  things  are  subject  unto  them.  Then  shall 
they  be  Gods,  because  they  have  all  power,  and  the  angels 
are  subject  unto  them. 

21.  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  abide  my  law, 
ye  cannot  attain  to  this  glory; 

37.  Abraham  received  concubines,  and  they  bare  him 
children,  and  it  was  accounted  unto  him  for  righteous- 
ness, because  they  were  given  unto  him,  and  he  abode  in 
my  law,  as  Isaac  also,  and  Jacob  did  none  other  things 
than  that  which  they  were  commanded ;  and  because  they 
did  none  other  things  than  that  which  they  were  com- 
manded, they  have  entered  into  their  exaltation,  accord- 
ing to  the  promises,  and  sit  upon  thrones,  and  are  not 
angels,  but  are  Gods. 

52.  And  let  mine  handmaid,  Emma  Smith,  receive  all 
those  that  have  been  given  unto  my  servant  Joseph,  and 
who  are  virtuous  and  pure  before  me;  and  those  who 
are  not  pure,  and  have  said  they  were  pure,  shall  be  de- 
stroyed, saith  the  Lord  God; 

53.  For  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  ye  shall  obey  my 
voice;  and  I  give  unto  my  servant  Joseph,  that  he  shall 
be  made  ruler  over  many  things,  for  he  hath  been  faith- 
ful over  a  few  things,  and  from  henceforth  I  will 
strengthen  him. 

54.  And  I  command  mine  handmaid,  Emma  Smith,  to 
abide  and  cleave  unto  my  servant  Joseph,  and  to  none 
else.  But  if  she  will  not  abide  this  commandment,  she 
shall  be  destroyed,  saith  the  Lord;  for  I  am  the  Lord 
thy  God,  and  will  destroy  her,  if  she  abide  not  in  my  law ; 

55.  But  if  she  will  not  abide  this  commandment,  then 
shall  my  servant  Joseph  do  all  things  for  her,  even  as 


68  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

he  hath  said ;  and  I  will  bless  him  and  multiply  him  and 
give  unto  him  an  hundred-fold  in  this  world,  of  fathers 
and  mothers,  brothers  and  sisters,  houses  and  lands, 
wives  and  children,  and  crowns  of  eternal  lives  in  the 
eternal  worlds. 

56.  And  again,  verily  I  say,  let  mine  handmaid  forgive 
my  servant  Joseph  his  trespasses;  and  then  shall  she  be 
forgiven  her  trespasses,  wherein  she  has  trespassed 
against  me;  and  I,  the  Lord  thy  God,  will  bless  her, 
and  multiply  her,  and  make  her  heart  to  rejoice. 

57.  And  again,  I  say,  let  not  my  servant  Joseph  put 
his  property  out  of  his  hands,  lest  an  enemy  come  and 
destroy  him,  for  Satan  seeketh  to  destroy ;  for  I  am  not 
the  Lord  thy  God,  and  he  is  my  servant;  and  behold! 
and  lo,  I  am  with  him,  as  I  was  with  Abraham,  thy 
father,  even  unto  his  exaltation  and  glory. 

61.  And  again,  as  pertaining  to  the  law  of  the  Priest- 
hood :  If  any  man  espouse  a  virgin,  and  desire  to  espouse 
another,  and  the  first  give  her  consent;  and  if  he  espouse 
the  second,  and  they  are  virgins,  and  have  vowed  to  no 
other  man,  then  he  is  justified;  he  cannot  commit  adul- 
tery, for  they  are  given  unto  him ;  for  he  cannot  commit 
adultery  with  that  that  belongeth  unto  him  and  to  no  one 
else. 

62.  And  if  he  have  ten  virgins  given  unto  him  by  this 
law,  he  cannot  commit  adultery,  for  they  belong  to  him, 
and  they  are  given  unto  him,  therefore  is  he  justified. 

64.  And  again,  verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  if  any 
man  have  a  wife,  who  holds  the  keys  of  this  power,  and 
he  teaches  unto  her  the  law  of  my  Priesthood,  as  per- 
taining to  these  things,  then  shall  she  believe,  and  ad- 
minister unto  him,  or  she  shall  be  destroyed,  saith  the 
Lord,  your  God,  for  I  will  destroy  her;  for  I  will  mag- 
nify my  name  upon  all  who  receive  and  abide  my  law. 


THE  GLORY  OF  MANY  WIVES  69 

Taken  by  itself  the  revelation  seems  wordy  and  in- 
volved. By  comparison  with  many  other  revelations, 
it  is  clear  and  concise,  and  bears  unconscious  witness 
that  Smith  had  it  in  mind  long  before  he  reduced  it 
to  paper.  The  pains  taken  to  bring  the  prophet's 
wife, — Emma  Hale  Smith, — into  line  are  noticeable 
and  amusing. 

What  prompted  Smith  to  make  this  strange  depart- 
ure from  the  accepted  traditions,  laws,  and  ideals  of 
the  country  in  which  he  lived,  and  of  all  other  coun- 
tries from  which  even  a  shred  of  his  ancestral  blood 
was  derived?  The  question  is  inevitable,  but  an 
authoritative  answer  is  wanted — unless  we  are  ready 
to  accept  his  own  explanation  of  direct  revelation 
from  God.  New  creeds  are  habitually  fruitful  in 
sexual  vagaries;  but  these  commonly  run  towards 
celibacy,  rather  than  to  greater  license.  The  defences 
of  a  custom  given  by  Mormon  theologues  are  excuses 
after  the  fact.  The  plea  that  polygamy  is  necessary 
to  give  every  woman  a  chance  to  fulfil  her  undoubted 
right  of  wifehood  and  motherhood  might  be  urged 
with  some  show  of  reason  in  England  or  Massachu- 
setts to-day;  but  it  did  not  apply  in  the  pioneer  com- 
munities of  the  Mississippi  valley.  Probably  Smith 
never  lived  in  a  settlement  where  there  was  not  a  sur- 
plus of  men,  rather  than  of  women. 

Did  he  put  forward  this  revelation  merely  to  con- 
done and  legalize  his  own  peccadilloes?  Mohammed 
had  a  matrimonial  sudra  after  being  caught  in  a  com- 
promising position.  Did  Joseph,  all  unconsciously, 
follow  this  august  example?  His  life  needed  some 
such  endorsement;  verses  52  and  56  of  the  document 
quoted  above  give  evidence  that  his  practice  of  polyg- 
amy antedated  the  revelation.     A  "new  and  ever- 


70  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

lasting  "  marriage  covenant  which  entitled  the  prophet 
to  do  as  he  pleased  would  be  quite  handy  under  such 
circumstances. 

One  suppositious  explanation  may  be  put  forward 
for  what  it  is  worth.  Like  all  other  creeds  in  modern 
times,  Mormonism  was  more  successful  in  appealing 
to  women  than  to  men.  While  males  outnumber  fe- 
males in  most  American  communities,  the  proportions 
of  the  sexes  are  reversed  in  practically  every  church. 
A  system  of  church-limited  polygamy  would  utilize 
this  wealth  of  potential  motherhood,  with  no  danger 
of  the  offspring  being  led  astray  by  an  heretic  father. 
This  consideration  undoubtedly  appealed  to  Brigham 
Young  and  to  some  of  his  counsellors  in  Utah;  but 
there  is  no  reason  to  assert  that  it  had  any  weight 
with  Smith.  Most  of  his  recorded  approaches  were 
to  women  already  married. 

The  first  of  these  was  the  wife  of  one  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles,  a  handsome  woman  whom  Smith  seems  to 
have  coveted  before  her  marriage.  He  had  enjoined 
the  Apostle  against  marrying  her,  and  found  that  even 
a  prophet's  advice  does  not  count  for  much  in  matri- 
monial affairs.  In  1840  this  Apostle  was  sent  on  a 
mission  which  kept  him  away  for  more  than  a  year, 
and  during  his  absence,  Joseph  took  the  woman  as  his 
"  spiritual  wife."  This  means  that  she  was  to  be 
Joseph's  wife  in  the  next  world,  though  the  wife  of 
another  man  in  this. 

This  was  Joseph's  first  authenticated  adventure  in 
spiritual  wifery.  Others  followed  not  much  later 
He  informed  John  Taylor  that  the  Lord  had  given 
Mrs.  Taylor  to  Joseph  for  his  spiritual  wife  in  the 
next  world.  Taylor  and  his  wife  united  in  strenuous 
protest,  and  the  prophet  laughingly  said  that  he  was 


THE  GLORY  OF  MANY  WIVES  71 

only  testing  their  faith  and  love.  He  gave  a  similar 
explanation  of  his  pursuit  of  the  daughter  of 
Sidney  Rigdon — but  it  is  not  of  record  that  he  made 
any  such  advances  in  the  household  of  Brigham 
Young. 

Mormon  tradition  has  it  that  Joseph  was  sealed  to 
twenty-seven  wives  before  his  death  in  Carthage  jail. 
How  many  of  these  sustained  marital  relations  with 
him  is  a  question.  The  marriage  ceremony  for  spirit- 
ual weddings  differs  not  at  all  from  that  for  marriages 
to  be  consummated  on  earth;  and  there  was  nothing 
to  keep  the  persons  so  united  from  anticipating  the 
heavenly  nuptials.  The  matter  is  shrouded  with  un- 
certainty now  because  it  was  covered  with  secrecy 
during  the  prophet's  lifetime. 

The  reasons  for  this  secrecy  are  not  far  to  seek. 
The  mere  rumour  of  polygamy  had  been  cited  as  a 
grave  offence,  which  the  prophet  found  it  necessary 
to  repudiate.  The  formal  announcement  of  such  a 
doctrine  would  have  precipitated  disaster.  It  is  prob-* 
able  that  even  Smith  was  equal  to  that  much  prevision, 
and  certainly  there  were  men  around  him  not  wholly 
lost  in  prophetic  ecstasy.  Another  and  almost  as  com- 
pelling a  reason  is  to  be  found  in  Smith's  awe  of  his 
legal  wife. 

Emma  Hale  Smith  was  a  woman  of  considerable 
intelligence,  decided  firmness  of  character,  and  excel- 
lent conversational  powers.  She  had  loved  Joseph  in 
his  vagabond  youth,  and  she  never  lost  her  fondness 
for  him.  She  had  shared  his  wanderings  and  his 
hardships,  she  had  acted  as  his  amanuensis,  she  knew 
to  the  last  decimal  the  sort  of  clay  of  which  her 
prophet  was  made.  This  did  not  keep  her  from  at- 
taching a  certain  importance  to  his  revelations,  but 


72  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

it  did  lead  her  to  scrutinize  them  rather  carefully. 
When  the  revelation  on  plural  marriage  was  at  last 
written  down,  some  one  said  it  must  be  shown  to 
Emma.  Joseph,  with  one  of  the  few  gleams  of  real 
humour  displayed  in  his  whole  lifetime,  said: 
"  Hyrum,  you  take  it  to  her !  "  Hyrum  obeyed.  The 
story  is  that  Emma  snatched  the  manuscript  from  his 
hand,  threw  it  into  the  fire,  and  wrathfully  declared 
it  was  a  revelation  from  the  devil,  not  from  God. 

In  spite  of  Emma's  opposition,  polygamy  was  prac- 
tised; and  she  must  have  known  it.  Very  possibly 
her  knowledge  was  moral  certainty,  rather  than  legal 
proof;  and  she  was  willing  to  have  it  so.  There  is 
little  basis  for  the  church  claim  that  Emma  formally 
gave  several  women  to  be  "  sealed  "  to  her  husband 
as  his  plural  wives.  The  truth  rather  seems  to  be 
that  she  endured  what  she  could  not  cure,  and  pre- 
tended not  to  see  things  that  she  could  not  sanction. 

At  one  time,  indeed,  Emma  made  vigorous  war  on 
plural  marriages.  She  forced  Joseph  publicly  to 
repudiate  the  doctrine,  and  she  procured  the  publica- 
tion of  a  card  signed  by  several  women,  alleging  that 
there  was  no  such  thing  as  polygamy  among  Latter 
Day  Saints.  At  the  moment  this  card  was  published, 
Eliza  R.  Snow,  one  of  the  signers,  was  the  plural  wife 
of  Joseph  Smith. 

This  illustrates  the  practice  which  began  probably 
at  Kirtland,  certainly  as  early  as  Nauvoo;  the  custom 
of  systematic  lying  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
safety  of  the  Saints.  From  that  day  to  this.  Mor- 
mons periodically  have  denied  polygamy  in  the  most 
solemn  language,  only  to  admit  it  the  moment  such 
admission  was  deemed  safe,  or  politic,  or  unavoidable. 
In  1850,  at  Boulogne-sur-mer,  John  Taylor  denounced 


THE  GLORY  OF  MANY  WIVES  73 

as  a  monstrous  lie  the  tale  that  the  Saints  practised 
polygamy.  John  Taylor  at  that  moment  was  the 
husband  of  four  wives,  some  of  whom  had  already 
borne  children  to  him.  Admissions  of  polygamy  from 
Mormons  may  be  accepted  as  good  evidence,  for  they 
have  never  been  found  to  admit  any  cases  that  were 
not  true.  But  denials  of  polygamy  by  Mormons 
mean  only  that  the  church  authorities  think  denial 
good  policy  for  the  moment. 

After  Joseph's  death,  Emma  declared  and  later 
taught  her  son  that  the  prophet  had  not  established, 
taught,  or  practised  polygamy,  that  this  was  the  in- 
vention of  Brigham  Young  or  of  John  C.  Bennett. 
In  view  of  the  family  tradition  that  the  original 
revelation  was  given  in  1831,  of  the  stories  in  circula- 
tion at  Kirtland,  of  the  positive  testimony  of  many 
women  that  they  were  married  to  Joseph  Smith  as 
his  plural  wives,  and  of  a  world  of  collateral  testi- 
mony, Emma's  denial — however  natural — deserves  no 
more  than  this  passing  notice. 

Polygamy  made  the  Mormon  church  a  thing  apart 
socially,  as  its  despotic  prophet  set  it  apart  in  re- 
ligious and  political  matters.  It  is  perhaps  one  cause 
of  the  comparative  failure  of  the  church  as  a  prose- 
lyting agency.  It  has  brought  manifold  suffering  on 
the  Saints,  and  it  was  the  direct  occasion  of  the 
prophet's  death.  But  it  has  never  been  abandoned. 
At  times  it  has  been  repressed;  at  times  it  has  been 
held  in  abeyance;  and  even  a  revelation  was  pub- 
lished recalling  God's  mistake  in  giving  this  covenant 
to  a  sinful  world — ^but  the  covenant  goes  on.  The 
present  head  of  the  church  has  at  least  five  known 
plural  wives  and  forty-three  children — twelve  of 
whom  were  born  to  him  after  he  pledged  his  honour 


74  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

to  abstain  from  plural  marriage  living.  As  despotic, 
as  tenacious,  and  on  occasion  as  secretive  as  its  proto- 
type of  Arabia,  Mormonism  remains  an  unsolved  rid- 
dle, and  maintains  an  unassimilated  polygamous  prin- 
cipality in  the  heart  of  the  American  republic. 


IX 

GROWTH  OF  A  SULTANATE 

IN  the  fall  of  1839,  Brigham  had  left  Nauvoo,  a 
settlement  in  its  raw  beginning.  In  the  summer 
of  1 84 1,  he  returned  to  find  it  a  considerable  town, 
booming  along  under  the  weirdest  government  which 
up  to  that  time  ever  afflicted  an  American  city. 

Smith  and  Rigdon  had  secured  from  the  Illinois 
legislature  a  charter  which  in  substance  legalized  the 
theocratic  despotism  of  the  prophet's  church,  and  gave 
him  a  military  force  to  execute  his  decrees.  Save  for 
the  power  of  the  legislature  to  repeal  the  charter  it 
had  given,  Nauvoo  was  hardly  a  part  of  Illinois  at  all. 
The  executive  powers  of  the  city  were  vested  in  a 
mayor;  the  legislative  powers  in  a  council  of  four 
aldermen  and  nine  councillors.  The  mayor  and  the 
four  aldermen  were  likewise  justices  of  the  peace  and, 
sitting  together,  they  constituted  the  municipal  court. 

The  council  had  power  to  pass  any  ordinances  it 
wished  which  were  not  contrary  to  the  state  or  fed- 
eral constitutions.  This  was  a  practically  unlimited 
grant  of  legislative  authority  within  the  city  limits. 
The  mayor,  as  judge,  had  sole  jurisdiction  in  all  cases 
arising  under  these  ordinances;  but  an  aggrieved  liti- 
gant or  prisoner  might  appeal  from  the  mayor  to  the 
municipal  court,  presided  over  by  the  mayor.  The 
municipal  court  had  powers  to  grant  writs  of  habeas 
corpus  in  all  cases  arising  under  the  ordinances;  which 
again  amounted  to  a  practically  unlimited  grant  of 

76 


76  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

judicial  authority  within  the  city  limits.  Finally, 
there  was  a  military  organization,  the  Nauvoo  Legion; 
a  city  militia  subject  to  the  sole  orders  of  the  mayor 
of  Nauvoo,  and  not  affiliated  with  the  regular  state 
militia.  Within  the  bounds  of  a  municipality,  all 
powers  possessed  by  the  state  of  Illinois  were  handed 
over  to  the  city  of  Nauvoo — which  meant  to  Smith 
and  his  associates. 

Much  ingenuity  has  been  wasted  in  search  of  the 
**'  author  "of  this  amazing  charter.  Its  real  "  author  " 
stands  plain  in  view — the  doctrine  and  experience  of 
the  Mormon  church.  Adhering  to  a  centralized  des- 
potism in  religious  and  social  affairs,  why  should  the 
Mormons  do  other  than  try  to  mould  their  political 
organization  on  the  same  model  ?  They  had  been  har- 
ried and  hounded  by  the  militia  of  Missouri;  what 
more  natural  than  that  they  should  demand  an  or- 
ganized militia  of  their  own?  Rigdon  had  enjoyed 
and  Smith  had  longed  for  the  benefits  of  a  writ  of 
habeas  corpus;  it  was  inevitable  that  they  should  seek 
to  get  this  potent  instrument  into  their  own  hands. 
Neither  at  Nauvoo  nor  at  Springfield  were  there  per- 
sons in  authority  who  could  foresee  that  this  grant 
of  vast  powers  would  rouse  the  jealous  hostility  of 
the  state.  Short-sighted  experience  demanded  the 
charter,  and  short-sighted  expediency  granted  it. 
Mormon  votes  were  needed  by  the  small  Democratic 
majority  then  in  control  of  ^the  state;  and  until  re- 
ligious and  social  antagonism  swept  party  distinctions 
aside,  the  prophet  could  have  nearly  everything  he 
wanted. 

No  place  was  reserved  in  the  political  organization 
of  Nauvoo  for  the  ablest  man  among  the  Saints,  now 
returned  after  nearly  two  years'  absence  and  unex- 


GROWTH  OF  A  SULTANATE  77 

ampled  service  to  the  church.  This  of  itself  would 
show  that  Sidney  Rigdon  made  good  use  of  Brigham's 
absence;  and  that  Joseph's  loyalty  to  his  best  and 
wisest  friend  depended  in  large  measure  on  that 
friend's  constant  presence.  Other  indications  point- 
ing the  same  way  are  not  wanting.  Rigdon  was  again 
made  one  of  Joseph's  counsellors,  William  Law  being 
the  other,  and  the  three  constituting  the  first  presi- 
dency. About  this  time,  too,  Sidney  Rigdon  became 
postmaster  of  Nauvoo,  and  hung  out  his  sign  in  that 
city  as  attorney-at-law.  The  relation  between  Rigdon 
and  Smith  was  a  puzzling  one  throughout  their  asso- 
ciation. Smith  in  a  way  despised,  and  perhaps  dis- 
trusted, Rigdon;  yet  in  the  absence  of  stronger  coun- 
sels, Rigdon  seldom  failed  to  shape  the  prophet's 
course. 

But  Brigham  Young  did  not  need  an  office  to  make 
him  a  power  among  his  people.  He  had  been  con- 
firmed in  his  position  as  president  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles;  and  that  was  enough.  Eight  days  after  his 
return,  he  had  re-established  his  influence  far  enough 
to  secure  the  revelation  commanding  him  to  stay  at 
home  and  take  care  of  his  family.  His  practical  wis- 
dom and  mechanical  knowledge  and  skill  were  in  de- 
mand on  the  temple  which  was  rising  to  be  a  mo- 
mentary wonder  of  the  West.  Sidney  Rigdon  might 
be  professor  of  church  history  in  the  "  small  uni- 
versity," but  Brigham  Young  was  professor  of  church 
policy  in  tho^e  religious  conclaves  which  really  gov- 
erned the  city. 

There  was  plenty  of  work  for  a  level-headed,  prac- 
tical man  in  the  throng  gathering  at  Nauvoo.  The 
site  of  that  latest  Zion  had  no  particular  advantages. 
No  one  had  built  a  town  of  any  importance  there  be- 


78  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

fore;  and  no  one  has  done  it  since.  But  converts 
from  all  points  of  the  compass  were  flocking  to  the 
standard  of  the  prophet,  and  human  industry  can 
build  a  city  anywhere.  Some  of  the  converts  had 
money,  more  had  not.  But  though  there  were  much 
hardship  and  some  downright  privation  in  the  settle- 
ment of  Nauvoo,  the  sojourn  there  was  comparatively 
a  placid  and  prosperous  time  in  the  stormy  career  of 
the  Saints. 

The  unhealthfulness  of  the  place  has  been  noted. 
There  was  a  heavy  death-rate  among  the  gathering 
converts  for  a  season  or  two;  especially  among  those 
from  England  whose  systems  had  not  acquired  partial 
immunity  to  malarial  poison.  The  clearing  and  drain- 
ing, incident  to  building  the  city,  rid  the  place  of  most 
of  its  mosquitoes,  and  malaria  fell  away  in  conse- 
quence. Manufactures  of  divers  sorts  were  estab- 
lished with  varying  success.  One  of  the  most  pros- 
perous of  these  was  a  steam  sawmill  built  by  William 
and  Wilson  Law,  two  Canadian  converts  of  much 
greater  wealth  than  was  usual  among  the  immigrants 
to  Nauvoo,  and  apparently  of  high  character.  We 
shall  hear  of  the  Laws  later. 

Aside  from  the  very  practical  matter  of  getting  a 
living,  the  chief  industry  at  Nauvoo  was  temple- 
building.  The  foundations  of  this  structure  were  laid 
April  6,  1 841;  and  the  mere  statement  of  its  dimen- 
sions shows  that  Smith  planned  in  this  case  to  "as- 
tonish the  natives  "  as  he  never  had  done  before.  The 
ground  plan  measured  eighty-three  by  one  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  feet;  the  body  of  the  structure  con- 
tained two  stories  and  a  basement,  and  was  about 
sixty  feet  high.  The  steeple — never  finished — to  sur- 
mount this  edifice  was  planned  to  be  one  hundred 


GROWTH  OF  A  SULTANATE  79 

and  twenty  feet  in  height.  Architecturally,  the  work 
was  a  hodge-podge,  neither  better  nor  worse  than 
most  of  the  half-baked,  half-borrowed  structures  with 
which  our  land  is  dotted;  but  at  least  it  expressed 
devotion,  rather  than  mere  dollars.  It  was  built  by 
contributions  from  the  people  in  the  form  of  tithes, 
by  donations  of  labour,  materials,  and  money  in  ex- 
cess of  tithing,  by  sacrifices  which  only  a  profoundly 
earnest  people  would  make.  In  spite  of  the  contrast 
in  artistic  and  structural  merit,  the  temple  at  Nauvoo 
was  as  truly  a  work  of  faith  as  the  cathedral  at  Char- 
tres;  and  the  words  Lowell  spoke  of  one  may  apply 
to  the  other: 

"  By  suffrage  universal  was  it  built,    .    .    . 
Each  vote  a  block  of  stone  securely  laid 
Obedient  to  the  builders'  deep  mused  plan." 

In  a  work  like  this  Brigham  Young  was  indispen- 
sable. He  was  the  only  man  high  in  the  councils  of 
the  church  who  had  any  mechanical  training  or  apti- 
tude; and  he  was  easily  foremost  in  his  ability  to 
handle  men  and  plan  large  labours.  In  more  subtle 
ways,  his  influence  was  soon  quite  as  pervasive.  Be- 
fore Brigham  came  to  Kirtland,  Smith  had  a  revela- 
tion with  every  change  of  the  wind,  and  sometimes 
when  the  wind  held  constant.  After  Brigham  re- 
turned to  Nauvoo  from  England,  Smith  gave  up  *'  re- 
vealing" almost  altogether.  The  plan  was  evolved 
that  when  the  prophet  had  one  of  these  spiritual  visi- 
tations, he  should  first  present  it  to  the  Quorum  of 
the  Twelve  Apostles.  If  the  Quorum  thought  well  of 
the  matter,  it  would  be  presented  to  the  church.  This 
remarkable  scheme  for  saving  the  Lord  and  his 
prophet  from  the  evil  of  hasty  speaking  is  ascribed  by 


80  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

tradition  to  Brigham  Young — ^and,  indeed,  it  could 
have  come  from  no  other  source.  The  mere  fact  that 
the  revelations  were  to  be  vised  by  the  Quorum,  of 
which  Brigham  was  head,  would  be  enough  to  clinch 
the  truth  of  the  tradition.  We  may  anticipate  enough 
to  say  that  in  all  his  rule  of  the  church,  Brigham 
Young  gave  but  one  revelation,  though  the  brethren 
were  clamorous  for  him  to  take  up  that  prophetic 
habit. 

The  first  election  under  the  new  charter  was  held 
in  February,  1841.  A  new  convert  to  the  church, 
Dr.  John  C.  Bennett,  was  chosen  mayor — in  com- 
pliance with  some  of  the  political  bargains  made  in 
granting  the  charter.  Rigdon  and  Smith  "  accepted  " 
places  in  the  municipal  council,  and  Smith  was  made 
commander  of  the  Nauvoo  Legion.  Napoleon  con- 
quered Italy  as  colonel  of  artillery;  but  Joseph  Smith 
could  not  endure  to  command  the  Legion  with  any 
less  title  than  that  of  "  Lieutenant-General."  A  lit- 
tle over  a  year  later — May  17,  1842, — Bennett  left 
the  Saints  after  a  quarrel  with  Smith,  and  made  a 
campaign  against  the  church  with  all  the  ardour  of 
an  apostate;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  his  philippics 
had  much  to  do  with  the  final  outcome.  He  annoyed 
the  faithful,  angered  the  prophet,  and  drew  from 
both  an  amazing  flow  of  that  kind  of  speech  known 
among  Gentiles  as  billingsgate;  but  so  far  as  can  be 
told,  he  accomplished  little  more. 

Other  annoyances  were  more  potent.  A  few  days 
before  Bennett  shook  the  dust  of  Nauvoo  from  his 
feet,  Governor  Boggs  of  Missouri  was  shot,  and  it 
was  thought  mortally  wounded.  The  Mormons  hated 
Boggs — with  perfect  justice — and  the  instant  thought 
in  the  mind  of  every  Missourian  was  that  the  shot 


GROWTH  OF  A  SULTANATE  81 

was  fired  by  some  one  among  the  Saints.  Smith  him- 
self could  prove  an  alibi;  so  the  natural  inference  of 
his  enemies  was  that  he  had  sent  one  of  his  subordi- 
nates to  perform  the  deed.  On  this  charge  of  being 
an  accessory  before  the  fact,  the  state  of  Missouri 
issued  a  requisition  on  the  governor  of  Illinois  for 
Joseph  Smith,  and  the  prophet  was  arrested  at  Nau- 
voo,  August  8,  1842,  on  the  governor's  warrant.  He 
immediately  demanded  to  be  taken  before  his  own 
municipal  court;  and  was  released  forthwith  on  a 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  issued  by  that  body. 

No  one  can  blame  Smith  for  not  wanting  to  go 
back  to  Missouri.  His  experiences  there  warranted 
the  suspicion  that  if  he  entered  that  state  again,  he 
would  never  leave  it  alive.  But  Smith  assuredly  did 
not  have  Socrates'  reverence  for  "  The  Laws  "  when 
he  perpetrated  this  grotesque  travesty  upon  them. 
The  clamour  resulting  was  so  great  that  after  some 
weeks  of  hiding  Smith  submitted  to  arrest.  This  time 
his  defence  was  made  in  accordance  with  law,  and 
the  United  States  district  court  at  Springfield,  Illinois, 
freed  him  on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  His  Missouri 
enemies  had  failed  once  before  to  get  him  across  the 
river;  they  made  still  another  attempt;  and  failing 
in  that  left  him  alone. 

The  actual  shooting  in  the  Boggs  case  was  charged 
against  "  Port "  Rockwell,  a  picturesque  character  of 
the  church,  long  famous  in  a  later  period  throughout 
Utah  for  his  unshorn  hair,  his  unrivalled  skill  in 
breeding  and  training  horses,  and  the  hair-raising, 
soul-satisfying  thoroughness  of  his  drunken  sprees. 
He  was  arrested  at  St.  Louis  and  tried  for  the  crime 
in  1843,  and  was  acquitted.  In  spite  of  the  jury's 
verdict — which  seemed  to  show  that  Smith  need  not 


82  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

have  feared  a  Missouri  trial — ^there  is  a  well-defined 
tradition  in  the  church  that  "  Port "  Rockwell  fired 
the  shot  at  the  enemy  of  the  Saints,  and  never  ceased 
to  mourn  that  the  bullet  did  not  do  its  desired  work. 

If  the  Missouri  enemies  of  Zion  were  discouraged, 
the  Saints  were  having  their  usual  success  in  raising 
a  crop  of  enemies  nearer  home.  Before  they  had  been 
long  at  Nauvoo,  charges  began  to  circulate  that  they 
were  systematically  robbing  their  Gentile  neighbours. 
Accusations  of  theft  are  made  in  all  border  feuds,  and 
need  not  be  taken  seriously  in  the  absence  of  cor- 
roborating evidence.  Such  evidence,  for  the  most 
part,  is  absent  in  this  case  of  the  Mormons.  There 
were  some  thieves  among  them,  and  some  zealots  not 
normally  thievish  had  been  soured  by  sufferings  until 
they  were  ready  to  spoil  the  Egyptians  at  the  first 
good  chance.  But  generally  speaking,  the  Mormons 
were  as  honest  in  financial  matters  as  their  neighbours; 
though,  as  Huckleberry  Finn  might  say,  "  that  ain't 
no  flattery,  neither." 

In  one  way,  however,  the  Saints  had  themselves  to 
thank  for  their  unsavoury  reputation.  In  their  eager- 
ness for  converts,  they  would  baptize  any  one  into 
the  church;  and  if  the  newcomer  remained  obedient 
to  the  prophet  and  faithful  to  his  religious  duties, 
they  would  stand  by  him  through  thick  and  thin.  The 
Mississippi  bottoms  in  those  days  were  haunted  by 
regular  gangs  of  thieves;  and  some  of  those  operating 
near  Nauvoo  soon  saw  the  advantage  of  a  fellowship 
which  gave  them  standing  and  helped  to  protect  them 
from  the  outside  world.  Many  of  these  joined  the 
Mormons  for  strictly  utilitarian  purposes.  They  were 
Saints  by  day  and  horse-thieves  by  night;  but  unless 
their  rascality  became  too  notorious,  their  new  asso- 


GROWTH  OF  A  SULTANATE  83 

ciates  would  protect  them.  The  Gentile  who  came  to 
Nauvoo  on  a  mission  that  might  trouble  the  brethren 
''  whittled  out."  Groups  of  men  and  boys  with 
sticks  and  long  knives  would  surround  the  undesirable 
intruder,  and  whittle,  whittle^-occasionally  letting  the 
knife  slip  towards  him  in  a  harmless  but  unpleasant 
sweep.  Wherever  he  went,  the  whittlers  would  fol- 
low; and  at  the  end  of  an  hour  or  two  of  this  enter- 
tainment, almost  any  one  was  anxious  to  emigrate 
from  the  city  of  the  whittling  Saints. 


MURDER  OF  THE  PROPHET 

IT  now  becomes  necessary  to  devote  a  chapter  to 
the  fortunes  of  Joseph  Smith,  rather  than  to 
those  of  Brigham  Young.  Brigham  was  going 
quietly  about  his  business,  doing  whatever  work  came 
to  hand,  "  taking  care  of  his  family  " — which  by  this 
time  had  been  increased  by  four  plural  wives — and 
supplying  counsel  and  advice  to  his  erratic  chief. 
Smith,  drunk  with  the  adulation  of  his  little  world, 
was  dreaming  of  limitless  political  power  while  yet 
scarcely  through  dodging  Missouri  sheriffs.  But 
Smith,  with  all  his  vagaries,  was  head  of  the  church; 
and  his  movements  determined  those  of  his  far  more 
able  disciple,  even  as  the  whims  of  the  stupid  Philip 
Second  overrode  the  "  cribbed  and  cabined ''  genius 
of  Parma. 

Under  pressure  of  public  opinion,  Smith  had  sub- 
mitted to  arrest  in  the  charge  connected  with  the  at- 
tempted murder  of  Governor  Boggs,  and  had  been 
freed  by  the  federal  court.  But  he  did  not  for  a  mo- 
ment renounce  his  claim  of  independent,  judicial 
sovereignty  for  his  handy  little  municipal  court  of 
Nauvoo.  It  was  this  municipal  court  which  foiled 
the  last  attempt  of  the  Missourians  to  drag  the  prophet 
back  for  trial;  and  belief  in  the  right  of  this  court  to 
issue  writs  of  habeas  corpus  became  the  shibboleth  by 
which  Smith  tested  the  friendship  of  those  non-Mor- 
mons who  sought  his  political  influence.    Walker,  the 

84 


MURDER  OF  THE  PROPHET  85 

Whig  candidate  for  congress  in  that  district  in  1843, 
had  vehemently  upheld  the  right  of  the  municipal 
court  to  issue  such  writs,  and  expected  to  receive  in 
return  the  Mormon  vote  and  a  consequent  election  to 
congress.  But  Governor  Ford  of  Illinois  was  a  Demo- 
crat who,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  could  call  out  the 
militia,  arrest  Smith,  and  deliver  him  up  to  the  Mis- 
souri authorities.  A  Democratic  politician  came  to 
Nauvoo,  and  speaking  in  Ford's  name,  though  not 
with  his  authorization,  informed  Smith  that  he  was 
safe  so  long  as  his  followers  voted  the  Democratic 
ticket. 

The  result  of  this  message  was  as  fine  a  demonstra- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  subtlety  as  anything  that  can  be 
shown  in  the  annals  of  Italy  or  Scotland.  Joseph 
had  bound  himself  to  vote  for  Walker.  But  Hyrum, 
the  prophet's  brother,  now  announced  that  he  had  a 
revelation  directing  the  Saints  to  vote  for  Hoge, 
Walker's  Democratic  opponent.  William  Law  chal- 
lenged Hyrum's  claim  to  a  revelation,  and  Joseph  was 
called  in  to  settle  the  dispute.  "  I  am  going  to  vote 
for  Walker,"  said  Joseph  solemnly.  "  But  Brother 
Hyrum  is  a  man  of  truth;  I  have  never  known  him  to 
tell  a  lie.  If  he  says  he  has  a  revelation  from  the 
Lord  telling  the  Saints  to  vote  the  Democratic  ticket, 
no  doubt  it  is  a  fact;  and  I  would  advise  you  that  in 
this  matter,  Hyrum  is  a  safer  guide  than  I  am.  When 
the  Lord  speaks,  let  all  the  earth  keep  silence  before 
him!'' 

The  congregation  took  the  hint,  and  Hoge  was 
elected  by  a  majority  of  four  hundred  and  fifty-five 
votes. 

The  trick  arrayed  the  whole  Whig  party  of  Illinois 
against  the  Mormons  and  inspired  the  Democrats  with 


86  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

apprehension  of  the  time  when  a  similar  cross-circuit 
revelation  would  be  turned  against  themselves.  Also, 
it  inspired  Smith  with  an  added  sense  of  power,  and 
set  him  to  asking  what  that  power  might  get  for  him. 
His  answer  to  this  self -questioning  is  rather  startling. 
He  decided  to  become  President  of  the  United 
States. 

At  this  distance  of  time,  Smith's  ambition  seems  a 
wild  and  uncanny  dream.  To  him  and  to  his  follow- 
ers, it  was  the  most  serious  of  realities.  Smith  had 
demanded  from  Clay  and  Calhoun,  the  two  chief 
candidates  for  Presidential  nominations,  what  would 
be  their  course  toward  the  Latter  Day  Saints  if  nomi- 
nated and  elected  to  this  high  office.  Both  men  an- 
swered with  very  proper  refusals  to  take  cognizance 
of  any  church  as  such.  Clay  declined  to  make  any 
pledges  save  those  implied  by  his  life  and  record. 
Calhoun  pointed  out  that  the  federal  authority  could 
give  no  help  to  the  Mormons  in  securing  redress  from 
Missouri  for  wrongs  suffered  while  they  were  resi- 
dents of  that  state. 

These  rebuffs  roused  Joseph  to  something  as  near 
righteous  wrath  as  his  inconsequential  good-nature 
permitted  him  to  feel.  He  answered  with  open  letters 
whose  windy  nonsense  has  been  equalled  but  rarely 
even  in  the  political  history  of  our  own  good  and  elo- 
quent land.  "  Crape  the  heavens  with  weeds  of  woe,"  he 
exclaims  in  the  epistle  to  Henry  Clay;  "  gird  the  earth 
with  sackcloth,  and  let  hell  mutter  one  melody  in  com- 
memoration of  fallen  splendour!  For  the  glory  of 
America  has  departed,  and  God  will  set  a  flaming 
sword  to  guard  the  tree  of  liberty,  while  such  mint- 
tithing  Herods  as  Van  Buren,  Boggs,  Benton,  Cal- 
houn, and  Clay  are  thrust  out  of  the  realms  of  virtue 


MURDER  OF  THE  PROPHET  87 

as  fit  subjects  for  the  kingdom  of  fallen  greatness — 
vox  reprohi,  vox  DiabolV 

"  He  opens  his  mouth,  shines  his  eyes,  and  leaves 
the  result  to  God,"  said  Abraham  Lincoln  of  a  ranting 
orator  some  years  later.  The  description  might  be 
dated  back  to  apply  to  Joseph  Smith. 

Smith  had  not  waited  on  the  hatching  of  this  bird 
of  eloquence  before  proceeding  with  his  quest  of  the 
White  House.  On  January  29,  1844,  ^^  was  nomi- 
nated at  Nauvoo  for  President  of  the  United  States. 
The  exact  composition  of  this  nominating  body  is  un- 
certain. May  17  of  the  same  year — just  a  few  days 
after  publishing  the  letters  to  Clay  and  Calhoun — this 
nomination  was  confirmed  by  something  which  passed 
for  a  state  convention,  also  assembled  at  Nauvoo.  In 
between  these  two  events.  Smith  had  published  his 
"  views  "  on  national  politics.  He  declared  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery  by  empowering  the  general  gov- 
ernment to  purchase  and  liberate  the  slaves;  for  the 
annexation,  not  merely  of  Texas  but  of  Canada  and 
Mexico  when  they  should  ask  for  that  blessing;  and 
for  a  scheme  of  national  banking  that  only  another 
Urim  and  Thummim  can  make  understandable.  He 
wanted  the  pay  of  congressmen  cut  to  $2.00  per  day 
and  board;  but  he  suggested  no  reduction  in  the  pay 
accorded  to  the  President.  On  the  contrary,  the 
Presidential  powers  were  to  be  exalted,  not  by  chang- 
ing the  Constitution  so  much  as  by  merely  "  taking  " 
such  powers  as  an  inspired  prophet  in  the  White 
House  might  think  worth  having.  "  Congress,  with 
the  President  as  executor,  is  as  almighty  in  its  sphere 
as  Jehovah  is  in  his,"  he  had  stated  in  his  letter  to 
Calhoun;  a  statement  which,  coupled  with  his  other 
outpourings,  goes  far  to  substantiate  the  claim  that 


88  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Joseph  Smith  was  the  forerunner  of  Populism,  and 
the  great  original  New  Nationalist. 

There  was  no  notion  on  Smith's  part  of  trusting 
his  campaign  to  letters  and  proclamations  alone.  He 
immediately  organized — or  some  one  organized  for 
him — a  campaign  designed  to  reach  every  part  of  the 
United  States.  All  the  most  able  and  aggressive  offi- 
cers of  the  church  were  sent  out  to  drum  up  votes 
for  the  prophet,  as  formerly  they  had  been  sent  to  find 
recruits  for  Zion.  Brigham  Young,  the  sane  coun- 
sellor; Orson  Pratt,  the  ready  orator;  John  D.  Lee, 
unthinking  fighter — all  these  and  scores  of  others  were 
sent  through  the  nation  to  organize  support  for  the 
prophet's  ambitions  at  the  very  hour  when  they  were 
most  needed  to  temper  his  course  and  protect  his  life 
at  home. 

William  and  Wilson  Law,  already  mentioned  in 
this  history,  were  two  of  the  wealthiest  and  most 
powerful  members  of  the  Mormon  church.  They  had 
establish  a  saw-mill  and  flour-mill  at  Nauvoo,  con- 
tributed to  the  building  of  the  city  and  temple,  and 
loaned  the  prophet  a  large  sum  of  money.  They  were 
high  in  his  favour  for  some  years.  William  Law  was 
made  counsellor  to  Joseph  and  a  member  of  the  First 
Presidency,  besides  being  registrar  of  the  Nauvoo 
University.  Wilson  Law  was  regent  of  the  university 
and  major-general  in  the  Nauvoo  Legion.  It  was  this 
pair,  of  all  men  in  Nauvoo,  whom  Joseph  had  to  quar- 
rel with  at  this  critical  moment. 

The  revelation  establishing  polygamy  was  written 
down,  as  we  have  seen,  July  12,  1843.  The  practice 
of  polygamy  antedated  the  revelation  by  at  least  two 
years.  Brigham  Young  was  married  to  one  of  his 
plural  wives  in  June,  1842,  and  tradition  agrees  that 


MURDER  OF  THE  PROPHET  89 

the  spouse  then  taken  was  the  second  to  be  received 
into  this  "  new  and  everlasting  covenant."  The  Laws 
were  among  the  select  number  to  whom  the  new  doc- 
trine was  imparted;  and  they  seem  to  have  rejected 
it  with  indignation  from  the  first.  They  pointed  out 
that  polygamy  is  directly  reprobated  in  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  and  combated  what  they  claimed  was  vicious 
heresy.  How  long  their  opposition  would  have  been 
confined  to  expostulation  within  the  church  cannot  be 
known,  for  Joseph  seems  to  have  made  the  capital 
error  of  trying  to  secure  Mrs.  William  Law  as  one 
of  his  spiritual  wives. 

By  this  time  there  must  have  been  quite  a  collection 
of  husbands  at  Nauvoo  whose  wives  Joseph  had 
sought  to  secure  as  stars  in  his  spiritual  crown.  Such 
advances  are  deemed  cause  for  personal  vengeance  in 
five  American  communities  out  of  seven,  even  to  this 
day.  Had  William  Law  taken  a  shotgun  and  scat- 
tered the  prophet's  brains  on  the  pavement  of  the 
temple,  he  would  have  done  only  what  dozens  of  men 
similarly  offended  have  done  before  and  since,  with 
no  worse  penalty  than  that  of  being  obliged  to  hear 
their  own  virtues  set  forth  to  a  sympathetic  jury. 
But  the  Laws  were  Canadians,  trained  in  that  strict 
discipline  and  stern  obedience  to  law  which  are  the 
glory  of  the  British  Empire;  and  they  took  what  they 
deemed  a  milder  course — though  it  proved  quite  as 
effective  a  one. 

Joining  with  Sylvester  Emmons,  one  of  the  few 
non-Mormons  in  Nauvoo,  and  Dr.  R.  D.  Foster,  who 
had  a  similar  score  to  settle  with  the  prophet,  the  Law 
brothers  determined  to  start  a  newspaper  to  expose 
the  misdeeds  of  Smith,  and  secure  a  reform  of  the 
church.     They  protested  themselves  firm  believers  in 


90  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

the  Book  of  Mormon  and  the  Divine  mission  of  the 
prophet  at  the  beginning  of  his  work,  but  they  held 
that  he  had  given  himself  over  to  the  devil,  and  was 
now  working  iniquity.  They  chose  the  name  Ex- 
positor for  their  paper,  and  its  first  and  only  issue 
justified  the  title.  It  told  the  story  of  the  revelation 
establishing  polygamy,  and  the  prophet's  method  of 
teaching  this  doctrine  to  women  converts.  It  con- 
demned Smith's  political  aspirations.  It  charged  him 
with  financial  crookedness.  It  demanded  the  imme- 
diate and  unconditional  repeal  of  the  Nauvoo  charter; 
and  it  pleaded  with  Mormons  in  general  to  abandon 
the  false  teachings  of  a  plurality  of  gods  and  wives, 
and  return  to  the  primitive  purity  of  the  faith. 

Mormon  historians  speak  of  the  Expositor's  charges 
as  "  filthy  lies."  The  phrase  is  not  a  happy  one. 
Aside  from  the  fact  that  the  Expositor  merely  charged 
Smith  with  practising  doctrines  set  forth  in  a  revela- 
iton  still  contained  in  the  church's  official  book  of 
faith,  we  may  point  out  that  lies  alone  never  stirred 
up  such  a  storm  as  was  raised  by  the  tales  in  the 
Expositor. 

The  first  and  likewise  the  last  number  of  this  paper 
was  issued  June  7,  1844.  The  next  day,  Smith  called 
the  city  council  together,  and  proceeded  to  put  the 
Expositor,  and  its  editors  on  trial  before  that  body. 
Zealous  souls  who  condemn  that  separation  of  ex- 
ecutive, judicial,  and  legislative  functions  which  is  the 
keynote  of  our  government  may  read  with  profit  the 
results  of  having  those  powers  joined  in  the  same  per- 
son. Smith  was  mayor  and  president  of  the  court; 
the  council,  aldermen,  and  councillors  alike,  were  his 
disciples,  and  wholly  obedient  to  his  wish.  Dr.  Foster, 
Mr.  Emmons,  and  the  Law  brothers  were  not  present 


MURDER  OF  THE  PROPHET  91 

at  this  "  trial "  affecting  their  property  and  perhaps 
their  safety.  Evidence,  argument,  and  hearsay  were 
jumbled  together.  The  session  of  this  beautiful  legis- 
lative-executive-judicial body  lasted  all  day  Saturday, 
June  8,  and  was  continued  to  the  following  Monday. 
Finally,  a  resolution  was  passed  declaring  the  Ex- 
positor a  public  nuisance,  and  "  directing "  Mayor 
Smith  to  abate  that  nuisance  in  any  manner  he  might 
choose ! 

The  beggars  were  on  horseback,  and  they  rode  as 
beggars  have  been  wont  to  do  since  before  the  proverb 
was  coined.  The  destruction  of  which  they  had  justly 
complained  when  it  overtook  their  own  Millennial  Star 
in  Missouri  was  to  be  visited  on  a  printing-office  which 
happened  to  offend  them  instead  of  the  Gentiles. 
Smith  issued  an  order  to  the  city  marshal,  command- 
ing him  to  destroy  the  press,  "  pi  "  the  type,  and  burn 
all  copies  of  the  Expositor.  The  marshal  took  an 
escort  from  the  Nauvoo  Legion,  broke  into  the  Ex- 
positor building,  and  carried  out  his  orders  with  joy- 
ous thoroughness.  "  The  within-named  press  and 
type  is  destroyed  and  *  pied  '  according  to  order  on  this 
loth  day  of  June,  1844,  at  about  8  o'clock  p.m.,"  he 
wrote  on  his  return  of  the  order. 

In  only  one  particular  was  the  prophet's  action 
better  than  that  of  the  mob  which  had  driven  the  Mor- 
mons from  Independence,  Missouri.  That  gathering 
had  tarred  and  feathered  a  Mormon  elder.  Foster 
and  the  Laws  were  not  hurt  in  any  way,  but  they  did 
not  wait  to  see  whether  this  immunity  would  last. 
That  same  night,  June  10,  they  fled  to  Carthage,  the 
county  seat  of  Hancock  county,  where  they  swore  out 
a  complaint  charging  Smith  and  others  with  riot. 
Smith  was  arrested  on  this  charge  June  12, — and  im- 


92  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

mediately  released  on  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  issued 
by  his  own  municipal  court. 

Had  Smith  surrendered  himself  and  been  tried  in 
the  ordinary  way,  the  result  might  have  been  dam- 
aging to  his  political  aspirations,  but  in  all  probability 
his  life  would  have  been  safe.  His  efforts  to  escape 
the  courts  led,  as  might  have  been  expected,  to  an 
appeal  to  the  mob.  Mass-meetings  were  held  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  Hancock  county,  and  at  one  of  these, 
resolutions  were  passed  calling  for  a  war  of  extermi- 
nation if  the  prophet  were  not  surrendered.  Mun- 
chausen-like  stories  of  Mormon  outrages  ran  from 
mouth  to  ear  through  all  the  surrounding  country, 
armed  men  gathered  at  various  places,  cannon  were 
ordered  from  larger  towns,  and  an  appeal  was  made  to 
Governor  Ford  to  call  out  the  militia. 

Governor  Ford  was  a  man  of  considerable  intelli- 
gence and  fair  intentions,  but  wholly  unfitted  for  deal- 
ing with  a  crisis  like  that  which  now  confronted  him. 
He  arrived  at  Carthage  June  21,  heard  the  tales  of 
the  more  rabid  Gentiles,  and  sent  to  Nauvoo  for  the 
Mormons  to  send  some  one  to  make  him  acquainted 
with  their  side  of  the  case.  Both  accounts  agreed  in 
the  essential  facts  of  the  destruction  of  the  Expositor 
and  the  release  of  Smith  in  defiance  of  the  state  courts. 
The  governor  put  proper  officials  in  command  of  the 
assembled  militia,  harangued  the  men,  and  received 
from  them  pledges  that  they  would  obey  his  com- 
mands and  aid  him  in  upholding  the  law.  Upon  this 
he  sent  word  to  Nauvoo  that  the  prophet  and  those 
of  his  followers  accused  of  riot  would  be  protected 
if  they  surrendered,  and  be  pursued  by  the  whole 
force  of  the  state  if  they  did  not.  Smith  preferred 
flight;  but  was  persuaded  by  his  followers  to  trust 


MURDER  OF  THE  PROPHET  93 

to  the  governor's  promises.  About  midnight  of  June 
24y  Joseph,  Hyrum,  and  the  other  Mormons  named 
in  the  complaint  reached  Carthage,  and  surrendered 
themselves  to  the  law.  All  were  admitted  to  bail  the 
next  noon,  but  the  prophet  and  brother  were  imme- 
diately re-arrested  on  the  charge  of  treason,  and 
lodged  in  the  county  jail. 

By  this  time  the  anti-Mormon  sentiment  of  Han- 
cock county  had  become  so  bitter  that  no  legal  prosecu- 
tions and  penalties  could  satisfy  it.  A  considerable 
number  of  Gentiles  openly  demanded  the  death  of  the 
prophet,  and  that  his  followers  should  be  driven  from 
the  state  by  military  force.  The  governor  resisted 
this  outrageous  demand,  but  he  took  no  effective 
measures  to  secure  the  safety  of  his  prisoners,  claim- 
ing afterwards  that  they  were  not  in  his  custody,  but 
in  that  of  the  sheriff.  He  disbanded  all  the  militia 
except  a  company  known  as  the  "  Carthage  Grays  " 
who,  being  residents  of  Hancock  county  and  involved 
in  the  quarrel,  were  among  the  prophet's  bitterest 
enemies.  Setting  this  company  to  "  guard  "  the  jail 
in  which  the  Smiths  were  confined,  the  governor,  on 
June  27,  set  out  to  visit  Nauvoo,  and  talk  the  Mor- 
mons into  a  right  appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  peace 
and  submission  to  the  law. 

The  same  morning,  several  hundred  militia  from 
Warsaw,  known  as  rabid  Mormon  haters,  started  to 
march  to  Carthage ;  from  which  point  they  expected  to 
accompany  other  state  troops  in  the  occupation  and, 
perhaps,  the  sack  of  Nauvoo.  On  the  way,  they  were 
met  by  a  message  from  the  governor  ordering  them 
to  return  to  their  homes,  as  the  Nauvoo  expedition 
had  been  given  up.  The  more  moderate  men  of  the 
militia  obeyed  the  order;  the  more  violent  continued 


94  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

their  march  toward  Carthage.  A  few  miles  from 
town  they  received  a  note  sent  by  the  Carthage  Grays, 
telHng  them  that  now  was  the  time  to  kill  the  Smiths, 
and  that  the  way  for  that  killing  would  be  made  easy. 

Joseph,  Hyrum,  and  two  visiting  brethren  (Willard 
Richards  and  John  Taylor)  were  sitting  in  a  large 
room  on  the  second  floor  of  the  jail  when  the  armed 
mob  approached.  Only  eight  men  and  a  sergeant  had 
been  left  at  the  jail,  and  these  made  no  resistance. 
Climbing  the  stairs  and  firing  through  the  door  of 
the  room,  the  mob  killed  Hyrum  Smith.  Joseph  had 
a  six-shooter  pistol  which  he  emptied  at  the  assailants, 
wounding  three  of  them,  and,  a  moment  or  two  later, 
he  made  a  rush  to  the  window,  and  tried  to  leap  out. 
His  appearance  brought  a  volley  from  the  mob  out- 
side, and  at  the  same  time  the  attacking  party  burst 
into  the  room,  and  fired  at  the  prophet  from  behind. 
He  made  the  Masonic  sign  of  distress,  and  then 
pitched  headlong  to  the  ground.  Whether  he  was 
dead  when  he  fell,  or  was  killed  in  the  yard  by  a  final 
volley  is  a  disputed  point. 

If  Governor  Ford  meant  to  have  the  Mormon 
prophet  murdered  or  kidnapped,  his  movements  on 
the  26th  and  27th  of  June  are  intelligible.  If  he 
meant  to  avert  such  a  crime,  his  behaviour  becomes 
a  mystery.  He  disbanded  troops  on  whose  loyalty  he 
could  rely,  and  left  the  prisoners  in  charge  of  the 
Carthage  Grays,  who  had  already  mutinied  at  the 
favours  shown  the  imprisoned  prophet.  He  took  no 
pains  to  see  that  the  yet  more  violent  men  from  War- 
saw were  turned  back  to  their  homes.  He  did  not, 
as  he  might  have  done,  send  the  prisoners  to  a  distant 
county  for  safe-keeping  until  the  excitement  had  sub- 
sided.    He  went  to  Nauvoo  the  day  of  the  murder, 


MURDER  OF  THE  PROPHET  95 

stayed  long  enough  to  establish  an  alibi,  made  a  mean- 
ingless speech  to  the  assembled  Mormons,  and  hurried 
away  without  doing  anything  to  justify  or  explain  his 
trip.  Though  a  pitifully  weak  man,  Ford  was  by  no 
means  a  fool.  Either  he  was  smitten  with  blindness, 
or  he  had  been  bullied  and  wheedled  into  leaving  the 
coast  clear  for  the  mob — ^probably  on  the  pretext  that 
the  Smiths  would  not  be  harmed,  but  seized  and  sent 
over  to  Missouri. 

The  death  of  Smith  was  designed  to  destroy  the 
Mormon  church.  That  crime  failed  of  its  purpose, 
as  mob  outrages  always  fail.  It  removed  an  indolent, 
dreamy  visionary  from  the  head  of  Mormon  affairs, 
and  put  in  his  place  a  grimly  practical  captain,  with 
despotic  temper  and  a  will  of  flint.  There  has  been 
on  earth  no  better  measure  of  the  folly  of  a  mob  than 
the  destruction  of  Joseph  Smith  to  make  room  for 
Brigham  Young. 


XI 

THE  NEW  PRIEST-KING 

THE  death  of  Joseph  was  an  unspeakable  shock 
to  the  anxious  Mormons  at  Nauvoo.  He  was 
at  once  their  prince  and  prophet;  bearer  of  the 
Word  and  the  sceptre  of  the  Most  High.  His  speech 
had  been  counsel  of  disaster,  and  his  rule  a  kingdom 
of  strife.  Toil,  hardship,  exile,  battle,  murder,  and 
sudden  death  had  been  the  lot  of  his  followers,  and 
this  lot  had  now  overtaken  their  chief.  The  man  who 
claimed  to  be  divinely  appointed  ruler  of  the  earth 
had  fallen  before  a  mob  of  lynchers  in  a  back  prairie 
town.  But  "  faith,  fanatic  faith  "  was  as  tenacious  in 
Illinois  of  the  nineteenth  century  as  in  Persia  of  the 
eleventh;  and  for  the  moment,  at  least,  the  tragic 
death  of  Joseph  does  not  seem  to  have  cost  him  a  dis- 
ciple. 

It  was  plain  that  the  flock  needed  a  new  shepherd; 
and  a  shepherd  was  ready.  The  foregoing  chapters 
of  this  history  have  been  useless  if  it  is  needful  at 
this  time  to  make  any  extended  presentation  of  the 
claims  of  Brigham  Young.  He  occupied  a  strong, 
strategic  position  as  president  of  the  Quorum  of 
Apostles.  He  occupied  a  yet  stronger  position  in  the 
public  mind  of  the  church  because  of  his  known  loy- 
alty and  tried  common  sense.  Of  all  prominent  Mor- 
mons, Brigham  had  been  most  steadfast  in  upholding 
the  prophet's  authority,  and  most  practical  in  guiding 
his  people.     He  had  rallied  the  church  when  Joseph 

96 


THE  NEW  PRIEST-KING  97 

was  in  prison  in  Missouri;  he  was  to  rally  it  again 
now  that  Joseph  was  dead. 

Brigham  Young  was  in  New  Hampshire,  elec- 
tioneering in  Smith's  campaign  for  the  Presidency, 
when  word  came  of  the  prophet's  death.  Shocked  but 
not  dismayed,  his  practical  mind  leaped  at  once  to  the 
question  of  the  continuance  of  Joseph's  work.  Strik- 
ing his  hand  on  his  knee  he  exclaimed  to  a  fellow- 
Apostle  sitting  by  him :  *'  The  keys  of  the  Kingdom 
are  right  here  with  the  Church !  "  The  language  was 
accurate,  though  needlessly  theological.  The  keys  of 
the  only  kingdom  with  which  he  was  really  concerned 
were  in  his  own  strong  right  fist,  and  were  to  stay 
there  till  he  followed  Joseph  across  a  greater  Divide 
than  the  one  over  which  he  led  Joseph's  people. 

The  strong  men  of  the  church  who  had  been  sent 
away  in  furtherance  of  Smith's  political  ambition  now 
turned  toward  Nauvoo.  Brigham  and  most  of  the 
Twelve  arrived  on  August  6.  Sidney  Rigdon,  Brig- 
ham's  only  rival,  was  three  days  before  him.  Sidney 
as  the  only  surviving  member  of  the  First  Presidency, 
claimed  rulership  of  the  church  in  Joseph's  place. 
Brigham's  partisans  answered  that  the  First  Presi- 
dency had  ceased  to  exist  at  Joseph's  death,  and  that 
the  next  highest  body,  the  Quorum  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles,  succeeded  to  control.  A  special  conference 
of  the  church  was  called  for  the  8th  of  August.  Sid- 
ney presented  his  claims  in  an  eloquent  plea  which 
left  the  people  cold.  Brigham  swept  Rigdon  and  his 
pretensions  aside  in  a  coarse,  contemptuous  harangue 
which  set  the  congregation  wild  with  enthusiasm.  His 
rough  confidence  and  overbearing  assurance  were 
proof  that  these  masterless  men  had  found  their  proper 
chief.    When  he  arose  to  speak,  a  miracle  of  second 


98  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

sight  was  vouchsafed  to  hundreds,  who  saw  before 
them  on  the  platform,  not  Brigham,  but  Joseph; 
Joseph  as  he  was  before  the  vile  mob  had  pierced  his 
body  with  lead  and  spilled  his  sacred  blood  on  the  pro- 
fane soil  of  an  heretical  state.  They  saw  the  face 
of  Joseph,  heard  the  voice  of  Joseph;  and  they  went 
to  their  graves  believing  that  on  this  occasion,  the  dead 
prophet  was  enabled  to  use  the  person  and  voice  of  the 
living,  and  that  in  some  mysterious  manner,  Brigham 
and  Joseph  were  melted  and  mingled  until  "  the  twain 
were  as  one."  By  a  unanimous  vote,  the  congregation 
"  sustained  "  the  Quorum  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  with 
Brigham  at  their  head  as  high  senate  and  rulers  over 
the  desolate  church. 

Before  Young  had  arrived  from  the  East — almost 
before  the  body  of  the  martyred  chief  was  cold — ^the 
Mormons  had  voted  to  abstain  from  all  efforts  of 
vengeance,  and  leave  their  wrongs  to  be  righted  by  the 
law.  There  was  as  much  fear  as  forbearance  in  this 
resolution,  but  it  was  adhered  to  even  after  the  first 
panic  had  passed;  and  Brigham  not  only  sanctioned 
it,  but  did  his  best  to  abolish  whatever  excuse  for  hos- 
tility might  have  been  afforded  by  the  Mormon  com- 
munity before  the  catastrophe.  The  same  meeting 
which  made  Brigham  and  the  Twelve  rulers  of  the 
church  voted  to  complete  the  great  temple.  Mis- 
sionaries were  sent  out  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 
Everything  showed  that  the  Mormons  meant  to  stay 
at  Nauvoo,  and  wished  to  be  on  as  good  terms  as 
possible  with  their  more  powerful  neighbours. 

If  at  this  juncture  the  people  of  Illinois  had  been 
wise  enough  to  proffer  peace  and  friendship  to  the 
Mormons,  the  history  of  some  parts  of  our  country 
might  have  been  changed.     The  prophet  was  dead; 


THE  NEW  PRIEST-KING  99 

and  with  him  died  his  claim  to  direct  and  exclusive 
revelation  which  was  an  insurmountable  barrier  to 
fellowship  with  other  religious  bodies.  His  successor 
at  first  made  no  claim  to  prophetic  authority;  indeed, 
he  then  expressly  disclaimed  it.  On  August  15,  Brig- 
ham  issued  his  first  letter  to  the  church,  warning  all 
good  Mormons  that  the  place  which  Joseph  Smith  had 
occupied  could  never  be  filled  by  another,  and  that  the 
Twelve  ruled  the  church  by  right  of  their  ordination 
from  Joseph.  With  peace  and  friendly  social  inter- 
course, the  Mormon  theocracy  would  have  dissolved 
before  it  got  out  of  the  gristle.  It  required  persecu- 
tion, multiplied  wrongs,  undeserved  exile,  and,  above 
all,  the  isolation  which  exile  brought,  to  harden  the 
Mormon  people  into  a  veritable  kingdom,  and  set  the 
church  theocracy  in  a  mould  which  endures  to  this 
day. 

Brigham  issued  his  letter  to  the  church,  despatched 
some  missionaries,  organized  the  work  on  the  temple, 
and  then  turned  to  a  task  that  must  have  given  him 
heartfelt  satisfaction,  the  task  of  settling  old  scores 
with  Sidney  Rigdon.  On  September  8,  a  High  Coun- 
cil was  held  to  try  Rigdon  for  divers  churchly  crimes 
and  misdemeanours.  The  accused  was  not  present 
but  the  trial  went  on  without  him,  and  ended,  of 
course,  in  his  excommunication.  When  this  verdict 
was  carried  to  the  general  conference  for  confirma- 
tion, those  who  dared  to  vote  in  Rigdon's  favour  were 
themselves  suspended.  Brigham  "  gavelled  "  through 
his  will  with  as  high  a  hand  as  ever  was  displayed  by 
a  political  chairman  in  a  "  close  "  convention. 

This  is  one  of  the  many  incidents  which  detract 
from  Brigham's  claims  to  greatness;  yet  even  here, 
the  man's  courage  is  as  sharply  outlined  as  his  tyran- 


100  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

nical  temper.  Sidney  Rigdon  had  a  large  part  in 
forming  Mormonism.  He  held  a  host  of  secrets  of 
the  church,  and  some  of  them  were  dangerous  secrets. 
He  threatened  openly  to  tell  all  he  knew,  and  bring 
down  the  Gentiles  in  a  destroying  mob  if  he  were 
driven  from  the  fold.  Brigham  picked  up  the  glove 
on  the  instant,  dared  Rigdon  to  tell  whatever  he 
pleased,  promised  that  the  Saints  had  a  few  tales  of 
their  own  which  Sidney  would  not  care  to  hear 
shouted  from  the  housetops;  and  in  the  most  insult- 
ing language  he  could  command,  invited  his  old  foe 
to  do  his  worst.  It  was  scarce  ten  weeks  since  the 
prophet's  death,  his  murderers  were  still  at  large,  the 
countryside  was  ready  to  spring  to  new  aggressions  at 
far  slighter  provocation  than  Sidney  Rigdon  could 
furnish.  Many  of  the  Apostles  were  trembling  in 
their  boots — ^but  not  Brigham. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Rigdon's  threat  to  turn 
state's  evidence  was  never  carried  into  effect. 

The  same  month  which  witnessed  Brigham's  final 
triumph  over  his  former  rival  saw  him  increase  his 
family  by  two  more  plural  wives.  One  of  these, 
Emily  Partridge,  was  one  of  the  polygamous  widows 
of  Joseph  Smith.  She  was  seventh  or  eighth  of  Brig- 
ham's  spiritual  and  likewise  terrestrial  partners,  and 
she  bore  Brigham  seven  children.  In  November  of 
the  same  year,  Brigham  took  another  wife;  and  in 
February,  1845,  ^^  married  another  of  the  widows  of 
Joseph  Smith.  All  told,  six  of  Joseph's  widows  be- 
came wives  of  Brigham. 

It  is  not  recorded,  however,  that  he  made  any 
matrimonial  advances  to  the  legal  widow  of  Joseph, 
Emma  Hale  Smith.  Her  alliance  would  have  been 
worth  having  in  an  ecclesiastical  sense;   but  Emma 


THE  NEW  PRIEST-KING  101 

was  bitterly  opposed  to  polygamy,  and,  altogether,  not 
the  kind  of  woman  Brigham  wished  to  add  or  could 
have  won  to  his  expanding  household. 

The  fall  and  winter  of  1844-45  passed  with  little 
excitement  and  less  good-will  between  Mormons  and 
Gentiles  around  Nauvoo.  The  charter  of  that  city 
was  repealed  in  January,  1845.  I^  April,  the  gov- 
ernor wrote  to  Young  urging  him  to  take  his  people 
to  California.  In  the  same  month,  Brigham  and 
most  of  the  Twelve  as  a  committee  addressed  a  dig- 
nified though  somewhat  magniloquent  appeal  to 
President  Polk — an  appeal  which  was  never  answered. 
In  reality,  events  were  waiting  on  the  trial  of  the 
prophet's  murderers.  Nine  men  accused  of  this 
crime  were  put  on  trial  May  19,  1845.  The  case 
lasted  twelve  days.  There  was  not  a  man  nor  woman 
in  the  county  who  did  not  know  that  these  accused 
persons  had  participated  in  killing  the  Smiths;  but 
that  knowledge  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  outcome 
of  the  case.  Throughout  the  trial,  armed  friends  of 
the  defendants  occupied  the  court-room,  browbeat  the 
judge,  influenced  the  jury,  and  intimidated  the  wit- 
nesses. The  defending  lawyers  made  as  brazen  a  plea 
for  mob  rule  as  ever  was  heard  in  a  meeting  of  Molly 
McGuires.  The  verdict  of  "  Not  guilty  "  was  a  pre- 
destined thing. 

That  verdict,  however,  was  official  notice  that  it 
was  safe  to  bait  and  kill  Mormons  in  Illinois,  pro- 
vided one  took  along  enough  friends  for  aids  and  wit- 
nesses. Friction  between  the  two  parties  increased 
steadily  through  the  summer,  and  on  September  10 
began  a  series  of  outrages  still  known  as  the  "burn- 
ings.'*  Armed  bands  of  Gentiles  descended  on  out- 
lying Mormon  farms,  drove  the  occupants  into  Nau- 


102  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

voo  with  only  the  scantiest  personal  property,  and 
burned  their  buildings  and  grain-stacks.  Two  weeks 
of  this  work  sufficed  to  concentrate  the  entire  Mor- 
mon population  of  Hancock  county  in  Nauvoo;  while 
the  Gentiles,  fearing  reprisals,  remained  constantly 
under  arms.  Only  one  Gentile  seems  to  have  suffered; 
Lieutenant  Worrell  of  the  Carthage  Grays  was  killed 
very  handily  by  "  Port "  Rockwell.  Finally  a  com- 
mittee of  four  prominent  citizens,  one  of  whom  was 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  was  sent  by  the  governor  to  re- 
store peace  in  Hancock  county. 

The  committee  found  the  Mormon  leaders  weary 
of  the  struggle,  and  willing  to  emigrate.  Some  ar- 
rangements, probably  tentative  in  character,  had  been 
made  for  removal  prior  to  the  "  burnings."  Brigham 
Young  promised,  in  behalf  of  the  church,  that  at  least 
a  thousand  families,  numbering  between  five  and  six 
thousand  persons,  would  move  the  following  spring, 
without  regard  to  whether  their  property  was  sold  or 
not;  and  that  the  entire  community  would  go  if  sales 
could  be  effected  so  as  to  raise  the  money.  The  com- 
mittee transmitted  this  pledge  to  the  governor  and  to 
the  militant  Gentile  party  of  Hancock  county;  the  gov- 
ernor stationed  a  militia  force  at  Nauvoo  to  guard 
the  Saints  during  their  preparations  for  exile,  and 
preparations  for  the  Great  Trek  began. 


XII 
THE  LAST  EXILE 

THE  rest  of  autumn  and  the  early  months  of 
winter  were  spent  in  making  ready  for  the 
long  march.  The  exact  destination  of  the 
Saints  was  uncertain;  but  all  knew  that  they  were  to 
journey  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Such  a  trip 
required  more  preparation  than  had  preceded  the 
hasty  jumps  from  county  to  county  and  from  state 
to  state  which  had  constituted  the  earlier  Mormon 
migrations.  The  grim  leader  now  at  their  head  was 
determined  that  this  should  be  the  last  exile  his  people 
need  endure.  He  meant  to  go  so  far  that  the  new 
Zion  would  have  time  to  grow  to  independent  strength 
before  Gentile  hostility  could  again  threaten  it. 

The  great  difficulty  in  preparing  for  the  trek  was 
poverty.  The  Mormon  community  was  poor.  Most 
converts  were  poor  when  they  joined,  and  the  cease- 
less hostility  of  their  neighbours  had  kept  them  so. 
From  Ohio  to  Missouri,  from  Jackson  county  to  Clay 
county,  from  Clay  county  to  Caldwell  county,  from 
Missouri  to  Illinois — no  people  could  gather  much 
gear  while  driven  from  pillar  to  post  in  this  fashion. 
The  Mormons  had  to  make  three  guineas  do  the  work 
of  much  more  than  five.  Appeals  were  sent  to  the 
brethren  in  England  and  the  eastern  states,  and  quite 
a  sum  was  raised  in  this  way.  Farms  in  the  country 
round  Nauvoo,  and  houses,  stores  and  lots  in  town, 
were  thrown  on  a  stagnant  market  for  sale.     The 

103 


104  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

proceeds  went  to  buy  horses,  oxen,  wagons,  and 
supplies. 

The  varied  industry  of  the  time  made  partial 
amends  for  the  lack  of  ready  money.  Much  that  the 
Mormons  could  not  buy  they  could  make.  Nauvoo 
was  turned  into  a  vast  wagon  shop  and  tent  manu- 
factory. Such  of  the  brethren  as  had  no  skill  in  these 
labours  were  sent  to  other  towns,  to  find  any  work 
that  offered,  and  to  send  their  wages  to  the  emigration 
fund  at  Nauvoo. 

It  is  at  such  times  that  the  primitive  theocracy  or 
the  yet  more  primitive  tribal  organization  shows  to 
greatest  advantage.  The  Mormon  church  had  lost 
many  adherents  in  the  recent  schisms.  But  among 
those  who  remained,  there  was  loyalty  and  singleness 
of  purpose.  They  gave  unanimous  consent  to  the 
westward  march,  leaving  their  leaders  to  fix  the  date 
and  destination.  They  accepted  with  equal  solidarity 
the  word  that  those  who  had  wealth  must  assist  those 
who  had  none  to  reach  the  new  Zion.  They  did  not 
bicker,  they  did  not  argue,  they  did  not  complain. 
They  worked,  obeyed,  and  were  cheerful.  The  social 
and  political  order  in  which  they  were  enmeshed  is 
death  to  individuality  and  progress.  But  as  a  means 
of  giving  purpose  and  unity  to  a  motley  clan,  and  of 
holding  it  firm  in  defiance  to  a  world  and  an  age, 
Mormonism  never  has  been  surpassed. 

In  all  the  activities  of  Nauvoo,  Brigham  Young 
bore  a  part.  He  was  captain,  preacher,  counsellor, 
foreman  and,  on  occasion,  skilled  labourer.  He 
worked  with  his  own  hands  on  the  boats  which  were 
to  take  the  people  across  the  great  river  in  the  spring, 
and  on  the  temple,  w^hich  the  Mormons  were  deter- 
mined to  finish  though  they  knew  it  must  be  left  to 


THE  LAST  EXILE  105 

their  enemies.  He  sent  young  men  into  distant  parts 
of  Iowa,  Illinois,  and  even  Missouri  to  buy  cattle  and 
horses  at  cheaper  prices  than  the  neighbouring  towns 
were  trying  to  wrest  from  the  needs  of  Nauvoo,  and 
studied  maps  of  the  western  country,  which  con- 
sisted chiefly  of  the  conventional  signs  for  mountains, 
with  vacant  spaces  marked  "  desert  '*  in  between. 
Heber  Kimball  was  Brigham's  most  constant  com- 
panion in  work  and  study.  Brigham  wanted  support, 
not  advice;  a  lieutenant,  not  a  counsellor;  and  in 
Heber  Kimball,  the  Mormon  leader  had  a  follower 
whose  loyalty  was  akin  to  worship. 

There  were  other  and  tenderer  duties  for  the  Mor- 
mon chief  to  perform  before  starting  on  the  westward 
trek.  Brigham  was  not  yet  sufficiently  married.  He 
had  begun  collecting  wives  shortly  after  his  return 
from  England  in  1841.  He  was  the  humble  possessor 
of  at  least  five  by  the  end  of  1843.  He  had  taken 
four  wives,  among  them  one  of  Joseph  Smith's 
widows,  in  1844;  and  three  wives,  including  another 
Widow  Smith,  in  1845.  ^^^  there  were  still  at  Nau- 
voo comely  maids  and  matrons  willing  to  be  stars  in 
the  crown  of  the  prophet's  successor;  and  Brigham 
gathered  five  of  these  to  his  capacious  bosom  in  the 
single  month  of  January,  1846.  One  of  the  five  was 
another  widow  of  Joseph,  of  course;  it  was  hardly 
possible  to  collect  that  many  eligibles  at  Nauvoo  with- 
out finding  at  least  one  desolate  widow  of  the  prophet 
in  the  number.  Brigham  consoled  two  more  of  these 
sad  ones  for  their  loss  of  the  fractional  currency  of 
matrimony  before  the  sum  of  his  weddings  was  com- 
plete. 

On  February  4,  1846,  the  Mormons  began  their 
exodus  from  Illinois.    The  season  was  open — for  the 


106  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

moment;  and  the  first  passengers  were  carried  across 
the  river  on  boats  which  were  kept  busy  day  and 
night  until  stopped  by  the  ice.  On  February  5,  camp 
was  formed  on  Sugar  creek,  in  the  then  territory  of 
Iowa,  nine  miles  west  of  the  point  of  crossing.  By 
the  middle  of  the  month,  a  thousand  persons  had 
gathered  at  this  rendezvous  with  wagons,  cattle,  and 
equipment  for  the  march.  The  weather  had  changed, 
heavy  snows  were  falling,  the  mercury  dropped  to 
twenty  degrees  below  zero,  and  teams  were  crossing 
the  Mississippi  on  ice.  Camp  life  at  such  a  season 
would  have  been  a  severe  trial  for  seasoned  soldiers; 
and  women  and  children  as  well  as  men  were  huddled 
on  Sugar  creek.  Nine  babies  were  born  in  tents  and 
wagons  in  this  camp  during  this  frightful  weather. 
American  pioneers  have  been  of  hardy  stock  from  the 
first;  and  never  was  that  hardihood  better  shown  than 
in  this  exodus  of  the  Mormons. 

On  February  15,  Young  arrived  at  Sugar  creek, 
bringing  with  him  several  apostles,  and  Captain  Pitt's 
Nauvoo  band.  The  campers  were  given  two  days  to 
sing  and  dance  themselves  into  forget  fulness  of  their 
troubles,  and  then  Brigham  assembled  them  to  receive 
information  and  orders.  He  sketched  in  outline  part  of 
the  journey  which  lay  ahead;  reminded  them  that  only 
by  discipline  and  co-operation  could  they  hope  to  ac- 
complish such  a  trip;  and  warned  them  that  he  meant 
to  keep  good  order  on  the  march,  and  that  those  who 
took  part  in  it  would  have  to  "  toe  the  mark."  After 
this  characteristic  homily,  Brigham  returned  to  Nau- 
voo, and  held  a  parting  service  in  the  almost  completed 
temple,  but  in  a  few  days  he  was  back  at  Sugar  creek, 
organizing  the  campaign.  A  letter  was  sent  to  the 
governor  of  Iowa,  telling  the  persecutions  which  the 


THE  LAST  EXILE  107 

Mormons  had  endured,  and  asking  for  protection  dur- 
ing the  march  across  the  territory.  At  last,  on  March 
I,  while  snow  still  covered  the  ground  and  bitter  nights 
were  still  the  rule,  that  march  was  begun. 

No  people  not  accustomed  to  the  emergency-filled 
existence  of  pioneers  could  have  made  that  journey. 
There  were  no  roads.  Snows  and  frost  gave  way  to 
torrents  of  spring  rain  and  seas  of  mud.  The  emigrants 
had  scarcely  half  enough  cattle  for  their  wagons. 
Sometimes  they  covered  five  miles  in  a  day;  sometimes 
ten,  sometimes  not  even  three.  At  Chariton  river,  in  a 
tent  pitched  on  ground  covered  ankle  deep  with  water, 
the  wife  of  one  of  the  elders  gave  birth  to  a  child, 
who  carried  through  life  the  name  of  the  stream  by 
which  he  was  born.  The  emigrants  had  to  ford 
or  bridge  streams,  and  corduroy  their  way  across 
soft  bottom-lands.  Food  was  scarce,  and  only  good 
discipline  and  communistic  sharing  saved  the  ex- 
pedition from  disaster  in  the  first  stage  of  its 
journey. 

At  Chariton  river,  during  the  halt  enforced  by 
floods,  the  camp  was  divided  into  companies  with  a 
semi-military  organization.  Fifty  or  sixty  wagons 
constituted  a  company,  each  with  a  captain  and  second 
in  command,  and  each  provided  with  a  commissary. 
This  last  was  an  indispensable  ofiicer,  for  the  emi- 
grants had  to  buy  much  of  their  supplies  by  the  way. 
They  had  little  money,  and  little  to  spare  in  the  way 
of  trade;  but  what  they  had  was  thrown  into  the  com- 
mon stock,  and  bartered  on  the  best  terms  available. 
Brigham  insisted  on  absolutely  honest  dealing.  Coun- 
terfeit money  was  plentiful  in  those  days,  and  one 
Mormon  passed  some  of  it  to  an  Iowa  farmer.  Brig- 
ham  descended  in  a  hurricane  of  wrath  on  the  culprit, 


108  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

and  on  the  bishop  who  had  pleaded  for  leniency  in 
the  case,  and  insisted  on  restitution.  His  anger  was 
not  more  a  matter  of  offended  morality  than  of  out- 
raged common  sense.  He  knew  that  if  the  first  com- 
pany of  Mormons  travelling  through  Iowa  passed  bad 
money,  the  following  companies  might  count  them- 
selves lucky  if  left  to  starve. 

From  time  to  time  along  the  road  the  Mormons 
established  ''  travelling  stakes  of  Zion  "  where  some 
of  the  emigrants  stopped  and  renting  or  "  taking  up  " 
land,  planted  a  crop  to  be  harvested  by  those  w^ho  came 
later  on  the  trail.  Other  Mormons  scattered  among 
the  pioneer  settlements  to  work  on  the  farms,  taking 
their  pay  in  flour,  grain,  and  other  provisions  and  sup- 
plies which  went  into  the  common  treasury.  Not  all 
who  thus  went  down  among  the  Philistines  returned 
safe  to  Israel;  all  across  Iowa  to-day  may  be  found 
families  whose  forbears  left  Nauvoo  with  the  Mor- 
mons, and  stopped  by  the  wayside.  But  a  surprising 
proportion  of  these  sorely  tried  men  held  true  to  the 
project  of  establishing  another  Zion  beyond  the  deserts 
and  mountains,  w^here  wicked  men  no  more  could 
persecute  the  chosen  Saints  of  God. 

It  must  not  be  thought  from  this  tale  of  Mormon 
hardships  that  their  march  was  a  creeping  procession 
of  gloom.  The  emigration  had  its  brighter  side;  and 
the  Mormons,  with  their  utter  trust  in  the  Lord  and 
His  regents,  were  of  all  people  best  fitted  to  gather 
such  brightness  as  might  be  had.  By  the  end  of  April, 
the  rains  had  ceased.  Thenceforward  the  journey  lay 
across  a  smiling  prairie  country,  with  numerous 
wooded  streams  where  game  was  plentiful.  By  this 
time,  too,  the  people,  grown  accustomed  to  travelling, 
ordered  their  life  by  conditions  of  the  camp,  rather 


THE  LAST  EXILE  109 

than  of  the  home.  Many  of  the  better  circumstanced 
families  brought  cows  which  were  driven  along  with 
the  teams.  The  cream  thus  afforded  was  hung  from 
axles  to  be  churned  by  the  jolting  of  the  wagons. 
Bread  would  be  set  and  raised  on  the  road,  and  when 
a  halt  was  made  for  the  night  a  little  dugout  in  the 
hillside  furnished  an  oven  in  which  the  loaves  were 
baked.  When  any  considerable  stop  was  made,  the 
whole  male  population  of  the  camp  engaged  in  work 
for  the  neighbouring  farmers,  or  planted  grain  for  the 
later  companies  to  harvest,  or  made  articles  for  sale 
or  for  use  in  the  camp.  The  handicraft  thus  practised 
might  not  gain  approval  from  modern  aesthetes,  but 
it  served. 

The  leading  party,  with  Brigham  in  direct  com- 
mand, reached  the  Missouri  river  the  middle  of  June, 
camped  at  Council  Bluffs,  and  began  building  boats  for 
the  crossing.  The  main  body,  following  slowly, 
stopped  at  the  "  travelling  stake  "  of  Mount  Pisgah, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  miles  farther  east.  Here, 
on  June  26,  they  were  overtaken  by  Captain  Allen, 
of  the  regular  army,  who  offered  to  enlist  five  hun- 
dred of  their  young  men  for  service  in  the  Mexican 
war  which  had  begun  that  April.  Such  Mormons  as 
volunteered  were  to  serve  for  twelve  months,  and 
would  form  part  of  the  expedition  against  California. 
It  was  believed  in  Washington  that  the  Mormons  in- 
tended to  settle  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  Captain 
Allen  mentioned  this  in  his  call  for  recruits.  "  Thus 
is  offered  to  the  Mormon  people  now,  this  year,  an 
opportunity  of  sending  a  portion  of  their  young  and 
intelligent  men  to  the  ultimate  destination  of  their 
whole  people,  and  this  entirely  at  the  expense  of  the 
United  States,  and  this  advance  party  can  thus  pave 


110  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

the  way  and  look  out  the  land  for  their  brethren  to 
come  after  them." 

Apostle  Woodruff,  in  command  at  Mount  Pisgah, 
referred  the  matter  to  Brigham  Young  at  Council 
Bluffs.  Brigham  closed  with  the  proposition  at  once, 
and  five  hundred  and  forty-nine  young  Mormons  were 
enlisted.  The  fighting  was  ended  in  California  long 
before  they  arrived,  but  they  did  a  certain  amount  of 
garrison  duty  before  the  expiration  of  their  term.  A 
few  remained  in  California,  a  few  re-enlisted  and  were 
lost  to  the  church;  but  practically  all  who  lived  to  be 
mustered  out  rejoined  their  brethren. 

Mormon  writers  describe  this  call  for  troops  as  a 
tyrannical  demand  made  upon  a  weakened  and  dis- 
tressed people;  and  at  the  same  point  to  the  enlistment 
of  the  battalion  as  proof  of  the  unexampled  loyalty 
of  the  Saints.  Both  tales  could  not  be  true,  and  it 
happens  there  is  not  a  fraction  of  truth  in  either. 
Captain  Allen  came,  not  with  a  demand  for  services 
but  with  an  offer  of  help,  which  was  seized  with  eager- 
ness by  a  people  needing  nothing  so  much  as  steady 
employment  at  cash  wages.  The  government  be- 
lieved it  was  conferring  a  favour  on  the  Mormons 
when  it  made  this  offer;  they  believed  they  were  con- 
ferring a  favor  on  themselves  when  they  accepted  it; 
and  the  historian,  looking  back  on  the  incident,  can 
find  no  reason  to  reverse  these  contemporary  judg- 
ments. The  talk  about  ardent  patriotism  is  a  pe- 
culiarly irritating  bit  of  ecclesiastical  hypocrisy,  and 
one  which  could  find  currency  only  among  a  people 
singularly  untrained  in  all  that  patriotism  means. 

Meanwhile,  the  Mormon  exodus  from  Nauvoo  con- 
tinued unchecked.  Major  Warren,  on  guard  with  a 
small  squad  of  militia,  reported  in  May  that  the  ferries 


THE  LAST  EXILE  111 

were  carrying  across  thirty-five  teams  and  a  propor- 
tionate number  of  human  beings  every  twenty-four 
hours.  As  fast  as  companies  could  be  organized  and 
assembled  on  the  Iowa  side,  they  took  the  trail  for 
the  unknown  land  of  refuge  in  the  West.  An  inde- 
pendent witness  who  rode  from  Council  Bluffs  to  the 
Mississippi  in  July  declared  that  12,000  Mormons 
were  then  moving  westward  across  Iowa.  Any  hon- 
ourable antagonism  among  the  Gentiles  around  Nau- 
voo  would  have  been  satisfied  by  this  wholesale  mi- 
gration; but  there  were  malcontents  in  the  neighbour- 
hood who  had  little  understanding  of  honour,  and 
who  did  not  scruple  to  rouse  mob  violence  against 
the  helpless  Mormons  who  remained  behind. 

Foremost  of  these  counsellors  of  strife  was  one  T. 
C.  Sharp,  editor  of  the  Warsaw  Signal.  Sharp  had 
been  implicated  in  the  murder  of  Joseph  and  Hyrum, 
and  had  not  ceased  his  efforts  to  stir  up  further  war 
against  the  Mormon  community.  He  brought  to  the 
work  an  energy  and  perhaps  a  fanatical  sincerity 
worthy  of  a  better  cause;  and  his  credulity  or  imagi- 
nation was  equal  to  accepting  and  circulating  any  tale 
of  Mormon  villainy.  So  long  as  Major  Warren  re- 
mained at  Nauvoo,  his  cool  courage  and  skilful  tact 
kept  the  peace.  But  Warren  marched  to  Mexico  that 
summer,  and  there  was  no  one  to  take  his  place. 

Sharp  managed  to  stir  up  the  Warsaw  militia  to  a 
move  against  Nauvoo  early  in  June;  but  the  heroes 
found  they  had  forgotten  their  powder,  and  returned 
without  making  an  attack.  Next  month  came  a  more 
serious  disturbance.  A  number  of  Mormons  harvest- 
ing some  distance  from  Nauvoo  became  involved  in 
a  quarrel  with  a  neighbouring  farmer,  who  gathered 
allies,  tied  up  the  Mormons  and  flogged  them.     The 


112  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

row  spread  like  a  prairie  fire;  each  side  seized  prison- 
ers to  hold  as  "hostages";  the  militia  officer  whom 
Governor  Ford  sent  to  protect  Nauvoo  found  himself 
opposed  by  a  larger  force  of  militia  commanded  by 
the  sheriff  of  Hancock  county,  who  was  bent  on  driv- 
ing the  Mormons  across  the  river  forthwith.  A  little 
later,  the  sheriff's  posse,  now  known  as  "  regulators," 
w-as  placed  under  command  of  another  militia  officer, 
so  that  the  visible  authority  of  the  state  was  seen  on 
both  sides  of  the  controversy.  The  Mormons  asked 
sixty  days  in  which  to  complete  their  migration.  This 
was  refused.  A  Campbellite  preacher  named  Brock- 
man,  a  man  whose  unsavoury  reputation  gave  promise 
of  the  evil  deeds  that  followed,  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  regulators,  and  the  last  "  Mormon  war "  of 
Illinois  was  begun. 

Brockman  advanced  to  the  attack  of  Nauvoo,  Sep- 
tember 12,  1846,  with  about  700  men.  The  entire 
Mormon  population  left  in  the  town  hardly  exceeded 
this  number;  but  many  so-called  "New  Citizens," 
Gentiles  from  the  east  and  south  who  had  moved  in 
and  bought  property,  took  part  in  the  defense.  Brock- 
man  scattered  his  riflemen  in  the  adjacent  cornfields, 
and  kept  up  a  noisy  fire  of  artillery.  The  defenders 
had  no  artillery,  but  they  made  a  substitute  by  boring 
out  some  steamboat  shafts,  and  fired  six-pound  shots 
from  these  impromptu  cannon.  The  town  was  wholly 
unfortified;  a  company  of  regulars  would  have  en- 
tered it  in  fifteen  minutes;  but  after  burning  powder 
for  an  hour  or  more,  Brockman's  forces  retired,  and 
settled  down  to  a  siege.  The  Mormons  lost  three 
men  killed  and  several  wounded  in  the  engagement; 
the  regulators  lost  ten  or  a  dozen  wounded,  of  whom 
one  died. 


THE  LAST  EXILE  113 

There  was  no  hope  of  protection  from  Governor 
Ford,  nor  of  justice  from  regulators  commanded  by 
Brockman  and  hounded  to  activity  by  T.  C.  Sharp. 
But  a  committee  of  citizens  from  Quincy  came  out 
to  see  if  they  could  prevent  further  bloodshed.  After 
some  days  of  negotiation,  a  treaty  was  signed,  pro- 
viding that  the  Mormons  should  leave  as  soon  as  they 
could  cross  the  river,  except  ten  men,  who  were  to 
see  to  the  disposal  of  the  unsold  property.  Brock- 
man  was  to  enter  the  city,  but  pledged  himself  not 
to  molest  the  citizens  or  the  departing  Mormons.  He 
kept  his  word  just  as  long  as  the  presence  of  a  crowd 
of  sight-seers  from  Quincy  put  a  constraint  upon 
him.  The  moment  he  was  left  in  full  control,  he  or- 
dered all  "  New  Citizens  "  who  had  sided  with  the 
Mormons  to  leave  at  once,  and  the  riffraff  under  his 
command  enforced  the  order  with  the  usual  aimless 
brutality  of  a  mob. 

The  wretched  remnant  of  the  Mormons  fled  before 
their  enemies  as  in  older  days  the  villagers  of  Italy 
might  have  fled  before  the  Huns.  Sick  men  and 
women  were  carried  away  on  their  beds,  sick  babies 
were  clutched  in  their  mother's  arms  as  the  whole 
population  struggled  for  the  ferries.  No  one  stopped 
to  gather  his  property;  few  even  halted  to  seize  a 
day's  provisions.  They  had  no  tents,  no  money,  and 
many  of  them  had  no  horses  or  wagons.  Still  they 
fled;  for  they  believed,  and  with  some  show  of  justice, 
that  any  exile  was  better  than  to  be  held  prisoners  by 
Brockman's  mob.  By  night  of  September  i8,  some 
seven  hundred  helpless  fugitives  were  camping  on  the 
malarial  flats  across  the  river  from  Nauvoo. 

Of  all  attacks  by  Gentiles  on  the  Mormon  com- 
munity this  was  the  last  and  the  least  defensible.     It 


114  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

stands  without  a  shred  of  palliation  or  excuse.  The 
Mormons  were  leaving  Xauvoo;  nearly  all  of  them 
had  already  gone.  Love  of  cruelty  for  its  own  sake, 
or  desire  to  plunder  the  property  which  might  other- 
wise be  sold  to  the  "  New  Citizens,"  were  the  sole 
rational  reasons  for  violence  at  this  time.  Doubtless 
both  motives  were  present  in  the  leaders  of  the  mob. 
But  that  men  like  Sharp  and  Brockman  could  rouse 
hundreds  of  citizens  to  follow  them  in  such  a  senseless 
and  conscienceless  crusade  shows  once  more  how  thin 
is  the  mantle  of  civilization  that  drapes  the  naked 
savagery  of  the  prime\^  caves. 

American  citizens  did  this  thing,  and  American  in- 
stitutions permitted  it  By  so  much,  therefore,  do 
our  citizenship  and  our  institutions  fall  short  of  the 
democratic  ideal  of  orderly  freedom.  The  raid  on 
Nauvoo  repeats  the  lesson  that  the  great  and  all  but 
fatal  lack  in  American  life  is  discipline;  not  the  dis- 
cipline which  kings  and  priests  impose  on  subjects  and 
worshippers,  but  which  free  and  just-minded  men 
impose  on  themselves. 

Had  democracy  been  less  riotous,  theocracy  had 
been  less  attractive.  But  democracy  can  claim  at  least 
Ae  negative  merit  that  it  does  not  train  people  to 
work  together  for  ill.  Its  worst  deeds  are  mild  when 
set  beside  those  of  any  temporal  or  spiritual  despotism 
that  history  knows.  The  attack  on  Nauvoo  was  a 
crime  which  the  present  writers  can  neither  palliate 
nor  deny — but  the  attack  on  Nauvoo  fades  into  insig- 
nificance in  the  shadow  of  Mountain  Meadows. 


XIII 
A  LONESOME  REVELATION 

THE  wretched  victims  of  mob  intolerance  re- 
mained on  the  malarial  flats  opposite  Nauvoo 
from  September  i8,  1846,  to  October  9.  The 
place  of  their  sojourn  was  well  named  "  Poor  Camp." 
Many  were  sick  before  leaving  Nauvoo;  and  after  a 
few  days  in  camp  there  were  none  who  could  be  ac- 
counted well.  Without  supplies,  without  tents,  with- 
out clothing,  without  cattle,  without  strong  leaders 
to  arouse  and  lead  them  on,  they  huddled  in  misery, 
and  waited  to  see  whether  help  or  destruction  would 
reach  them  first.  Crazy  shelters  were  rigged  to  pro- 
tect the  sickest  of  their  number,  and  tents  made  of 
bedquilts  gave  some  screening  to  women  in  child- 
birth— for  such  there  were,  even  in  this  gathering  of 
desolation.  The  elders  who  remained  at  Nauvoo  to 
sell  property  did  all  they  could;  a  small  subscription 
was  taken  up  for  the  Poor  Camp  fugitives  at  Quincy; 
but  nothing  effective  was  done  until  messengers  who 
had  been  sent  West  could  return  with  wagons  and  sup- 
plies. 

Help  arrived  from  the  west  October  9;  and  with  it 
a  miracle.  As  the  Saints  were  preparing  to  take  up 
their  westward  march  with  but  the  scantiest  of  pro- 
visions, the  Lord  sent  great  flocks  of  quail  which  fell 
among  the  wagons  and  boats  of  the  refugees,  so  ex- 
hausted that  they  could  be  knocked  over  with  sticks 
or  picked  up  alive  with  the  hands.    "  Tell  this  to  the 

115 


116  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

nations  of  the  earth!  Tell  it  to  the  kings  and  nobles 
and  great  ones !  "  exults  Brigham  in  recounting  this 
instance  of  Divine  favour.  It  is  worthy  of  remark 
that  the  leaders  of  the  party  would  not  permit  indis- 
criminate slaughter  of  the  food  supply  thus  mirac- 
ulously placed  in  their  hands;  and  after  enough  quails 
had  been  gathered  to  vary  and  replenish  their  scanty 
larder,  the  rest  of  the  birds  were  allowed  to  go  free. 
''If  we  kill  when  we  cannot  eat,  we  shall  want  to  eat 
when  we  cannot  kill,"  said  Brigham  on  another,  but 
similar,  occasion.  It  is  regrettable  that  the  Indian 
philosophy  thus  expressed  did  not  become  current 
among  other  white  men  than  Mormons. 

There  were  now  nearly  twelve  thousand  Mormons 
scattered  across  Iowa,  or  in  camp  across  the  Missouri 
river  in  what  is  now  Nebraska.  About  four  thousand 
Saints  were  at  this  latter  place,  under  the  direct  com- 
mand of  Brigham  Young.  Nearly  as  many  more 
were  gathered  at  Mount  Pisgah;  and  the  rest  of  the 
total  given  were  distributed  at  other  and  smaller 
camps,  some  being  as  far  east  as  Garden  Grove.  In 
addition  to  these,  some  of  the  eastern  brethren  had 
assembled  at  New  York,  to  sail  for  California  by  sea, 
and  there  join  the  overland  migration;  for  there  was 
a  general  though  not  authoritative  impression  that  the 
Mormons  would  colonize  the  Pacific  coast.  Finally, 
there  were  hundreds  of  young  Mormons  who  had 
gone  down  among  the  Gentiles  in  search  of  work,  and 
whose  wages,  aside  from  the  pittance  needed  to  sup- 
port their  families,  went  into  the  emigration  chest. 
Finer  or  more  steadfast  loyalty  to  a  cause  and  a  chief- 
tain never  was  seen  than  these  exiled,  outcast  men 
gave  to  Mormonism  and  Brigham  Young. 

The  chief  camp  on  the  Missouri  was  known  as 


A  LONESOME  REVELATION  117 

"Winter  Quarters.'*  It  was  the  winter  home  of  a 
scant  third  of  the  Mormons  on  the  march;  but  it 
housed  Brigham  Young;  and  that  was  enough  to  make 
it  seem  a  dwelHng  of  a  host.  It  occupied  the  ground 
where  now  stands  the  town  of  Florence,  Nebraska. 
So  long  as  the  Saints  remained  in  any  region  where 
unhealthful  sites  existed,  they  managed  to  find  one; 
and  Winter  Quarters  was  no  exception.  The  low- 
lying  ground  along  the  Missouri  was  christened 
"  Misery  Bottoms  " ;  and  the  illness  there  engendered 
was  not  slow  in  spreading  to  the  slightly  higher  ground 
where  the  camp  was  pitched.  Stagnant  pools  near  the 
stream  were  a  choice  breeding-ground  for  mosquitoes; 
and  malaria  greeted  the  travellers  almost  at  once.  Be- 
sides malaria,  there  was  another  disorder,  obscure  in 
nature  though  resembling  scurvy,  which  the  Mormons 
called  "  black  canker."  Indeed,  there  may  have  been 
many  different  infections  in  this  unlucky  camp,  for 
descriptions  of  disease  written  by  laymen  are  no  great 
help  in  historical  diagnosis. 

For  three  centuries,  it  is  doubtful  if  any  English- 
speaking  lad  has  received  a  proper  education  in  the 
doings  of  his  race  without  wishing  he  might  have  been 
with  Drake,  or  Hawkins,  when  they  sailed  to  *'  barter 
bold  their  English  steel  for  Spanish  gold "  on  the 
shores  of  the  Caribbean.  Strong-hearted  youth  can 
encounter  with  a  laugh  such  dangers  of  those  early 
adventures  as  are  commonly  recounted  in  history. 
The  brave  but  inept  Spaniards  were  victims,  rather 
than  enemies.  The  real  foe  of  the  buccaneers  was 
disease.  It  was  so  with  the  migrating  Mormons.  The 
Gentiles  who  bombarded  them  with  cannon  and  proc- 
lamations killed,  all  told,  barely  twoscore  of  their 
number;  the  Indians,  whom  the  Mormons  held  in  no 


118  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

small  awe,  did  not  dangle  the  scalp  of  a  single  Saint 
from  their  belts  for  years.  But  at  Nauvoo,  at  Poor 
Camp,  at  Winter  Quarters,  disease  slew  them  by  hun- 
dreds. 

Colonel  Thomas  L.  Kane  says  that  there  were  more 
than  six  hundred  deaths  in  Winter  Quarters  before 
the  beginning  of  winter,  and  that  even  so  late  as  De- 
cember one-tenth  of  the  population  of  the  camp  were 
on  the  sick-list.  At  Papillon  camp,  on  the  Little  But- 
terfly river,  the  sickness  was  even  worse.  Kane  him- 
self was  ill  with  the  fever  at  this  point,  and  at  one  time 
in  August  a  third  of  the  people  in  camp  were  sick. 
There  were  not  enough  well  persons  to  bury  the  dead; 
and  not  enough  lumber  to  supply  coffins.  On  the 
Missouri  river,  as  in  a  few  cases  during  the  march 
across  Iowa,  the  Mormons  adopted  the  Indian  plan 
of  winding  their  dead  in  bark  stripped  from  a  tree. 
Before  his  illness  at  Papillon,  Colonel  Kane  had 
opened  an  old  Indian  burial  mound.  When  he  re- 
covered, he  found  that  his  Mormon  host  had  put  the 
mound  to  its  ancient  uses.  The  trench  he  had  cut 
through  was  filled  with  loosely-covered  bodies,  and  the 
ground  around  was  furrowed  with  graves  like  a 
ploughed  field. 

Colonel  Kane  was  destined  to  perform  the  classic 
function  of  a  diplomat  for  his  friends,  the  Saints,  on 
more  than  one  future  occasion.  His  accounts  of  Mor- 
mon trials  and  virtues  never  suffer  from  lack  of  either 
rhetoric  or  figures.  But  we  know  from  other  sources 
that  the  loss  and  suffering  were  frightful,  and  that  the 
sickness  had  its  way  unrestrained  until  cold  weather 
partially  checked  its  ravages.  Faith  cure  was  one  of 
the  stock  properties  of  Mormonism  when  it  began; 
and  some  leaven  of  it  lingers  even  to  this  day.    Faith 


A  LONESOME  REVELATION  119 

may  have  moved  mountains,  and  certainly  has  moved 
multitudes;  but  plague  and  cholera  and  yellow  fever 
and  typhoid  and  malaria  seem  still  to  require  grosser 
material  means  for  their  eradication. 

In  the  matter  of  safeguarding  health,  Brigham 
Young  at  this  time  was  as  ignorant  as  any  of  his  fol- 
lowers. But  in  every  other  varied  need  and  duty,  he 
was  a  master.  "  He  sleeps  with  one  eye  open  and 
one  foot  out  of  bed,"  declared  his  admiring  follow- 
ers; and  the  description  seemed  true.  His  finger  was 
on  every  move  the  Saints  made;  and  nearly  always, 
it  was  his  finger  that  pointed  the  movement.  A  little 
city  of  seven  hundred  log  and  turf  huts  was  thrown 
up  at  Winter  Quarters.  The  impromptu  town  was 
divided  into  twenty-two  wards,  each  presided  over  by 
a  bishop.  Schools  were  established — whatever  their 
attitude  towards  higher  learning,  the  Mormons  have 
been  as  insistent  on  primary  education  as  the  old  New 
Englanders.  Missionaries  were  sent  to  England  and 
a  few — a  very  few — to  promising  points  in  the  eastern 
states.  Machinery  for  a  carding-mill  was  ordered 
from  Savannah,  and  later  was  carried  across  the 
plains.  Materials  for  a  flour-mill  were  bought  at  St. 
Louis;  and  when  they  arrived  at  Winter  Quarters 
Brigham,  as  carpenter,  superintended  the  mill's  con- 
struction. The  forty-horsepower  working  capacity 
which  had  won  him  his  supremacy  never  was  better 
shown  than  in  this  death-haunted  camp  on  the  banks 
of  the  Missouri. 

It  is  as  much  a  tribute  to  his  watchful  foresight  and 
keen  knowledge  of  human  nature,  as  to  the  compelling 
power  of  religious  zeal,  that  despair  never  seems  to 
have  visited  a  Mormon  camp  during  this  heart-search- 
ing winter.     If  there  was  a  desertion  at  this  time  of 


120  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Saints  who  had  remained  faithful  hitherto,  the  fact 
has  escaped  record.  Work  and  prayer,  dancing  and 
schooling,  alternated  in  regular  order  throughout  the 
cold  season.  Every  camp  had  some  sort  of  musical 
organization,  and  the  post  of  musician  in  a  Mormon 
community  entailed  steady  work,  then  as  now. 

At  Mount  Pisgah,  Lorenzo  Snow  was  in  command 
most  of  the  winter,  and  during  his  term  of  office  he 
gave  a  grand  party.  Snow  rejoiced  in  the  possession 
of  a  log  cabin,  fifteen  feet  by  thirty,  "  with  a  dirt  roof, 
ground  floor,  and  sod  chimney."  Here  he  housed  his 
family  of  four  wives,  three  of  whom  bore  him  chil- 
dren during  their  stay  at  this  place.  For  the  party, 
sheets  were  hung  to  cover  the  walls;  clean  straw  was 
strewn  on  the  floor;  and  turnips,  hollowed  out  to  hold 
candles,  furnished  the  required  candelabra.  There 
were  music,  recitations,  and  at  the  end  a  dance. 

This  tale  has  been  told  as  evidence  of  a  lack  of 
delicacy  among  the  Mormon  exiles.  The  implication 
may  be  true,  so  far  as  it  concerns  the  giving  of  a  grand 
ball  in  such  quarters  at  such  a  time — a  hovel  housing 
a  husband  and  four  wives,  of  whom  three  were  about 
to  become  mothers  or  had  just  emerged  from  that 
travail.  But  the  tale  shows  as  well  a  determined  cour- 
age, an  habitual  cheerfulness,  and  a  serene  confidence 
in  the  outcome  of  their  adventure,  despite  the  troubles 
that  lay  so  close  behind  their  adventure  and  towered 
visibly  ahead.  These  qualities,  on  an  expedition  of 
the  sort  that  engaged  the  Mormons,  are  worth  more 
than  even  a  modest  reticence  and  a  nice  perception  of 
the  proper  time  to  give  parties  to  friends. 

Ever  since  Brigham  had  taken  command  of  the 
church,  he  had  been  asked  to  give  revelations,  after 
the  manner  of  Joseph.     He  had  resisted  this  demand 


A  LONESOME  REVELATION  121 

at  Nauvoo,  he  had  resisted  it  during  the  march  across 
Iowa.  But  now,  in  Winter  Quarters,  with  spring  ap- 
proaching, in  which  the  next  stage  of  their  migration 
must  be  undertaken,  Brigham  had  things  to  say  which 
he  thought  best  to  cast  in  the  form  of  a  revelation. 
It  was  the  only  one  he  gave  during  his  life,  and  we 
present  it  here  entire: 

The  word  and  will  of  the  Lord,  given  through  Presi- 
dent Brigham  Young,  at  the  Winter  Quarters  of  the 
Camp  of  Israel,  Omaha  Nation,  West  Bank  of  Missouri 
River,  near  Council  Bluffs,  January  14th,  1847. 

1.  The  word  and  will  of  the  Lord  concerning  the  Camp 
of  Israel  in  their  journey ings  to  the  West. 

2.  Let  all  the  people  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter  Day  Saints,  and  those  who  journey  with  them, 
be  organized  into  companies,  with  a  covenant  and  promise 
to  keep  all  the  commandments  and  statutes  of  the  Lord 
our  God. 

3.  Let  the  companies  be  organized  with  captains  of 
hundreds,  captains  of  fifties,  and  captains  of  tens,  with  a 
president  and  his  two  counsellors  at  their  head,  under 
the  direction  of  the  Twelve  Apostles ; 

4.  And  this  shall  be  our  covenant,  that  we  will  walk 
in  all  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord. 

5.  Let  each  company  provide  themselves  with  all  the 
teams,  wagons,  provisions,  clothing,  and  other  necessaries 
for  the  journey  that  they  can. 

6.  When  the  companies  are  organized,  let  them  go  to 
with  their  might,  to  prepare  for  those  who  are  to  tarry. 


122  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

7.  Let  each  company  with  their  captains  and  presidents 
decide  how  many  can  go  next  spring ;  then  choose  out  a 
sufficient  number  of  able-bodied  and  expert  men,  to  take 
teams,  seeds,  and  farming  utensils,  to  go  as  pioneers  to 
prepare  for  putting  in  spring  crops. 

8.  Let  each  company  bear  an  equal  proportion,  accord- 
ing to  the  dividend  of  their  property,  in  taking  the  poor, 
the  widows,  the  fatherless,  and  the  families  of  those  who 
have  gone  into  the  army,  that  the  cries  of  the  widow  and 
the  fatherless  come  not  up  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord 
against  this  people. 

9.  Let  each  company  prepare  houses,  and  fields  for 
raising  grain,  for  those  who  are  to  remain  behind  this 
season,  and  this  is  the  will  of  the  Lord  concerning  his 
people. 

10.  Let  every  man  use  all  his  influence  and  property 
to  remove  this  people  to  the  place  where  the  Lord  shall 
locate  a  stake  of  Zion. 

11.  And  if  ye  do  this  with  a  pure  heart,  in  all  faithful- 
ness, ye  shall  be  blessed;  you  shall  be  blessed  in  your 
flocks,  and  in  your  herds,  and  in  your  fields,  and  in  your 
houses,  and  in  your  families. 

12.  Let  my  servants,  Ezra  T.  Benson  and  Erastus 
Snow,  organize  a  company; 

13.  And  let  my  servants,  Orson  Pratt  and  Wilford 
Woodruff,  organize  a  company. 

14.  Also,  let  my  servants,  Amasa  Lyman  and  George 
A.  Smith,  organize  a  company; 

15.  And  appoint  presidents,  and  captains  of  hundreds, 
and  of  fifties  and  of  tens, 


A  LONESOME  REVELATION  123 

1 6.  And  let  my  servants  that  have  been  appointed  go 
and  teach  this  my  will  to  the  Saints,  that  they  may  be 
ready  to  go  to  a  land  of  peace. 

17.  Go  thy  way  and  do  as  I  have  told  you,  and  fear 
not  thine  enemies ;  for  they  shall  not  have  power  to  stop 
my  work. 

18.  Zion  shall  be  redeemed  in  mine  own  due  time. 

19.  And  if  any  man  shall  seek  to  build  up  himself, 
and  seeketh  not  my  counsel,  he  shall  have  no  power,  and 
his  folly  shall  be  made  manifest. 

20.  Seek  ye  and  keep  all  your  pledges  one  with  an- 
other, and  covet  not  that  which  is  thy  brother's. 

21.  Keep  yourselves  from  evil  to  take  the  name  of 
the  Lord  in  vain,  for  I  am  the  Lord  your  God,  even  the 
God  of  your  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  of  Isaac, 
and  of  Jacob. 

22.  I  am  he  who  led  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  and  my  arm  is  stretched  out  in  the  last 
days  to  save  my  people  Israel. 

23.  Cease  to  contend  one  with  another,  cease  to  speak 
evil  of  one  another. 

24.  Cease  drunkenness,  and  let  your  words  tend  to 
edifying  one  another. 

25.  If  thou  borrowest  of  thy  neighbor,  thou  shalt  re- 
turn that  which  thou  borrowed;  and  if  thou  canst  not 
repay,  then  go  straightway  and  tell  thy  neighbor,  lest 
he  condemn  thee. 


124  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

26.  If  thou  shalt  find  that  which  thy  neighbor  has  lost, 
thou  shalt  make  diligent  search  till  thou  shalt  deliver  it 
to  him  again. 

2"^.  Thou  shalt  be  diligent  in  preserving  what  thou  hast, 
that  thou  mayest  be  a  wise  steward ;  for  it  is  the  free  gift 
of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  thou  art  the  steward. 

28.  If  thou  art  merry,  praise  the  Lord  with  singing, 
with  music,  with  dancing,  and  with  a  prayer  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving. 

29.  If  thou  art  sorrowful,  call  on  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  supplication,  that  your  souls  may  be  joyful. 

30.  Fear  not  thine  enemies,  for  they  are  in  mine  hands, 
and  I  will  do  my  pleasure  with  them. 

31.  My  people  must  be  tried  in  all  things,  that  they 
may  be  prepared  to  receive  the  glory  that  I  have  for 
them,  even  the  glory  of  Zion,  and  he  that  will  not  hear 
chastisement,  is  not  worthy  of  my  kingdom. 

32.  Let  him  that  is  ignorant  learn  wisdom  by  humbling 
himself  and  calling  upon  the  Lord  his  God,  that  his  eyes 
may  be  opened  that  he  may  see,  and  his  ears  opened  that 
he  may  hear, 

33.  For  my  Spirit  is  sent  forth  into  the  world  to  en- 
lighten the  humble  and  contrite,  and  to  the  condemnation 
of  the  ungodly. 

34.  Thy  brethren  have  rejected  you  and  your  testi- 
mony, even  the  nation  has  driven  you  out; 

35.  And  now  cometh  the  day  of  their  calamity,  even  the 
days  of  sorrow,  like  a  woman  that  is  taken  in  travail; 


A  LONESOME  REVELATION  125 

and  their  sorrow  shall  be  great,  unless  they  speedily  re- 
pent, yea,  very  speedily; 

36.  For  they  killed  the  prophets,  and  them  that  were 
sent  unto  them,  and  they  have  shed  innocent  blood,  which 
crieth  from  the  ground  against  them : 

37.  Therefore  marvel  not  at  these  things,  for  ye  are 
not  pure ;  ye  cannot  yet  bear  my  glory ;  but  ye  shall  behold 
it  if  ye  are  faithful  in  keeping  all  my  words  that  I  have 
given  you  from  the  days  of  Adam  to  Abraham;  from 
Abraham  to  Moses ;  from  Moses  to  Jesus  and  his  apostles ; 
and  from  Jesus  and  his  apostles  to  Joseph  Smith,  whom 
I  did  call  upon  by  mine  angels,  my  ministering  servants ; 
and  by  mine  own  voice  out  of  the  heavens  to  bring  forth 
my  work, 

38.  Which  foundation  he  did  lay,  and  was  faithful  and 
I  took  him  to  myself. 

39.  Many  have  marvelled  because  of  his  death,  but  it 
was  needful  that  he  should  seal  his  testimony  with  his 
blood,  that  he  might  be  honored,  and  the  wicked  might  be 
condemned. 

40.  Have  I  not  delivered  you  from  your  enemies,  only 
in  that  I  have  left  a  witness  of  my  name? 

41.  Now,  therefore,  hearken,  O  ye  people  of  my 
church ;  and  ye  elders,  listen  together ;  you  have  received 
my  kingdom. 

42.  Be  diligent  in  keeping  all  my  commandments,  lest 
judgment  come  upon  you,  and  your  faith  fail  you,  and 
your  enemies  triumph  over  you. — so  no  more  at  present. 
Amen,  and  Amen. 


126  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

It  will  repay  a  little  study,  this  revelation.  The 
first  eighteen  verses,  aside  from  the  necessary  pre- 
lude, constitute  a  military  order;  and  a  very  wise, 
keen-eyed,  and  comprehensive  one.  The  nineteenth 
verse  contains  a  thinly  veiled  warning  against  any  am- 
bitious creatures  who  might  seek  to  infringe  Brig- 
ham's  monopoly  of  communion  with  the  Lord,  and  his 
yet  more  cherished  monopoly  of  dictating  to  the  Saints. 
The  twentieth  to  thirtieth  verses,  inclusive,  give  some 
sound  social  directions,  interlarded  with  a  little  whole- 
some grandiloquence,  and  closing  with  a  counsel  of 
good  cheer.  From  the  thirty-first  verse  to  the  end, 
the  tone,  if  not  the  style,  is  Joseph's. 

The  explanation  of  this  reversion  to  type  is  not 
far  to  seek.  The  same  scribes  who  took  down  the 
multifarious  outpourings  of  Joseph  now  sat  to  receive 
and  write  down  the  sparing  sentences  of  Brigham. 
When  he  had  finished  the  matters  about  which  he 
really  cared,  they  added  the  frills  without  which  the 
document  would  not  have  looked  like  a  revelation  to 
them — nor,  perhaps,  to  those  for  whom  it  was  in- 
tended. 


XIV 

ACROSS  THE  DESERT 

JOHN  FISKE  headed  his  chapter  on  early  ex- 
plorations in  America  with  the  truthful  and  al- 
luring title,  "  Strange  Coasts."  But  even  Fiske 
did  not  recognize  how  wide  was  the  application  of  the 
enchanting  legend.  The  tale  he  told  of  Balboa  and 
the  Cabots  and  Frobisher  and  Magellan  was  true  in 
some  degree  even  to  his  own  day.  For  three  and  a  half 
centuries,  each  generation  of  dwellers  on  American 
soil  sent  forth  a  portion  of  its  sons  to  explore  strange 
coasts;  to  seek  for  "  something  lost  behind  the  ranges  "; 
to  push  back  a  little  farther  the  edge  of  the  wilderness, 
and  found  new  cities  or  find  new  graves  as  fate  might 
decree.  Each  year  the  field  of  exploration  dwindled, 
but  until  a  generation  ago  something  of  it  endured; 
and  with  it  endured  the  spirit  of  romance  and  ad- 
venture. 

The  Mormons  were  now  to  take  their  turn  at  ex- 
ploring strange  coasts,  and  adventuring  into  new  lands. 
Much  information — most  of  it  untrue — had  been 
brought  back  by  earlier  travellers  concerning  the  west- 
ern country.  Little  of  this  knowledge  was  accessible 
to  the  Mormons,  and  less  dealt  with  things  they  needed 
to  know.  Beyond  the  Missouri  lay  the  short  grass 
country,  beyond  that  the  mountains,  farther  yet  were 
awesome  deserts  and  still  more  rugged  hills;  and  after 
these  the  coastlands  and  the  sea.  Less  than  nothing 
was  known  of  the  agricultural  possibilities  of  the  land, 

137 


1^8  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

even  in  California;  less  than  nothing  of  the  chances 
of  finding  a  place  where  the  Latter  Day  Saints  might 
build  a  new  Zion,  and  dwell  in  prosperous  aloofness 
from  the  world. 

The  first  and  last  recorded  revelation  of  Brigham 
Young — quoted  in  the  last  chapter — was  given  Jan- 
uary 14,  1847.  Therein  is  outlined  the  general  plan 
of  the  expedition;  a  pioneer  company  was  to  go  ahead 
to  spy  out  the  land  and  plant  spring  crops,  either  at 
the  final  destination  or  at  some  convenient  point  by 
the  way.  Other  companies  were  to  follow  as  they 
could  on  the  trail  blazed  by  the  pioneers.  Some  were 
expected  to  remain  at  least  another  season  at  Winter 
Quarters,  and  these  would  be  occupied  in  reaping  the 
grain  left  planted  for  them  by  the  brethren  of  the 
advance.  From  the  time  the  revelation  was  given, 
more  active  and  detailed  preparations  for  the  move 
went  forward;  and  by  conference  time  in  the  spring, 
the  first  company  was  nearly  ready  to  start. 

Brigham  was  to  lead  this  pioneer  company.  He  had 
made  every  preparation  for  the  trip  that  could  be  made 
with  the  limited  means  at  his  command,  including  one 
oblation  that  was  all  his  own.  The  Greeks  offered 
sacrifice  when  setting  out  on  a  distant  journey.  The 
mediaeval  Catholic  offered  vows;  the  Puritan  offered 
prayers;  but  Brigham  Young  offered  marriage.  He 
had  added  five  stars  to  his  celestial  crown  before  start- 
ing on  the  trip  from  Nauvoo;  now,  in  March,  1847, 
he  conferred  on  two  more  women  the  fractional  joys 
of  his  husbandship.  One  of  these — what  need  to  wTite 
it  ? — was  another  widow  of  the  martyred  Joseph.  She 
was  the  last  of  that  sorrowing  sisterhood  to  be 
comforted  on  the  broad  bosom  of  the  prophet's  suc- 
cessor. 


ACROSS  THE  DESERT  129 

On  April  6,  1847,  the  seventeenth  anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  the  church,  general  conference  was  held  at 
Winter  Quarters.  The  day  before,  Heber  Kimball 
had  taken  cattle  and  wagons  and  established  a  camp 
some  miles  west  on  the  Elkhorn  river,  whence  the  start 
was  to  be  made.  Immediately  after  the  conference, 
chosen  pioneers  began  to  gather  at  the  rendezvous; 
but  Brigham  delayed  to  hear  news  of  the  Saints  in 
Britain.  Parley  P.  Pratt  was  first  of  the  returning 
missionaries  to  reach  the  Missouri,  bringing  word  that 
some  brethren  whose  peculations  had  disgraced  the 
church  were  excommunicated,  and  that  the  affairs  of 
Zion  were  once  more  prosperous  in  England.  A 
couple  of  days  later,  John  Taylor  came  in,  bringing 
$2,250  in  gold  contributed  by  English  members  of  the 
church.  It  arrived  too  late  to  be  of  use  in  outfitting 
the  leading  company;  but  at  least  it  sent  them  off  with 
good  news  ringing  in  their  ears. 

April  14,  1847,  the  pioneer  squadron  got  away. 
One  hundred  and  forty-three  men — three  of  whom 
were  negroes — were  included  in  this  company.  They 
had  seventy-two  wagons,  ninety-three  horses,  fifty-two 
mules,  sixty-six  oxen,  nineteen  cows,  seventeen  dogs, 
an  indeterminate  number  of  chickens — and  a  six- 
pound  cannon.  The  company  had  been  picked  to  in- 
clude blacksmiths,  carpenters,  wheelwrights,  and  sev- 
eral of  those  handy  Jacks-of -all-trades  whom  settled 
industrialism  professes  to  despise  but  on  whom  a  pio- 
neer community  leans  as  on  a  staff.  Brigham  Young, 
as  commander  of  the  expedition,  rejoiced  in  the  title  of 
lieutenant-general;  and  from  this  elevation  the  titles 
graduated  down  through  captains  of  hundreds,  of 
fifties,  and  of  tens  to  the  captain  of  artillery,  who  was 
also  chief  blacksmith.    Two  historians,  Willard  Rich- 


130  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

ards  and  William  Clayton,  were  chosen  to  preserve 
for  future  generations  the  story  of  the  Great 
Trek. 

There  were  three  women  and  two  children  in  the 
party.  Brigham,  his  brother  Lorenzo,  and  his  friend 
and  lieutenant,  Heber  Kimball,  each  brought  a  selected 
spouse.  Brigham,  strange  to  say,  did  not  choose  one 
of  his  most  recent  acquisitions  for  a  travelling  help- 
mate. He  took  Clara  Decker  Young,  who  was  No.  6 
in  his  collection,  a  beautiful  girl  who  had  married 
him  at  Nauvoo  three  years  before  when  only  sixteen 
years  old.  Her  mother,  Harriet  Young  ( formerly  the 
Widow  Decker),  secured  permission  to  accompany 
the  leader's  brother,  Lorenzo;  and  Heber  Kimball 
brought  along  one  of  his  wives,  Ellen  Sanders  Kim- 
ball. Not  least  strange  among  the  experiences  of 
these  good  women  on  the  journey  was  that  of  being 
for  a  time  an  only  wife.  The  children  were  the  son 
and  stepson  of  Lorenzo  Young. 

Discipline  of  the  pioneer  company  was  strict  and 
practical.  The  bugle  blew  at  five  in  the  morning,  when 
all  were  to  rise,  assemble  for  prayers,  feed  the  cattle, 
and  get  breakfast.  At  seven  o'clock  the  second  bugle 
gave  signal  for  starting.  Wherever  practical,  two 
wagons  moved  abreast;  and  in  case  an  Indian  attack 
was  threatened,  they  were  to  move  five  or  six  abreast. 
Each  man  was  required  to  walk  beside  his  wagon, 
loaded  gun  in  hand,  and  never  to  leave  the  wagon  nor 
lay  down  the  gun  without  permission  of  his  captain. 
If  his  musket  had  a  cap-lock,  he  was  required  to  re- 
move the  cap  and  cover  the  point  with  a  leather  casing 
to  protect  it  from  dust  and  the  weather;  if  a  flint- 
lock, care  of  equal  measure  but  different  nature  was 
enjoined.    At  half -past  eight  in  the  evening,  another 


ACROSS  THE  DESERT  131' 

bugle  sent  every  man  to  his  wagon  for  prayers,  and 
at  nine  o'clock  all  save  the  sentries  were  to  be  in  bed. 
There  were  two  watches  each  night.  Early  in  the 
journey,  after  an  exciting  day,  some  of  the  unpractised 
sentinels  slept  at  their  posts — to  have  their  hats  and 
guns  taken  away  from  them  by  their  more  wake- 
ful comrades.  The  ridicule  thus  pointed  helped  to 
tighten  the  reins  of  discipline;  it  was  reinforced 
by  the  voice  of  the  chief,  and  the  offence  was  not 
repeated. 

They  were  enlisted  for  no  light  adventure.  Other 
pioneers  had  crossed  the  plains  before,  bound  even  on 
longer  journeys  than  the  Saints  were  destined  to  make. 
But  other  pioneers  took  time  for  preparation,  moved 
when  they  were  ready,  and  unless  they  thought  their 
equipment  was  sufficient,  did  not  move  at  all.  The 
Mormons  timed  their  journey  by  the  law  of  grim 
necessity,  and  their  equipment  was  anything  which 
harried  exiles  could  save  from  the  wreck  of  their 
Nauvoo  fortunes,  or  collect  from  more  fortunate 
brethren  during  the  sojourn  at  Winter  Quarters. 
Other  pioneers  came  as  the  mere  overflow  of  an  ad- 
venturous community.  The  Mormons  were  preparing 
to  migrate,  not  their  surplus,  but  their  entire  popula- 
tion. They  had  no  permanent  base  of  supplies,  no 
way  open  for  retreat  in  case  of  disaster — save  at  the 
price  of  giving  up  the  church  organization  which  they 
had  come  to  value  more  than  their  lives.  They  be- 
lieved— and  with  some  show  of  reason — that  every 
man's  hand  was  against  them.  They  feared  the  Mis- 
sourians  who  were  trekking  toward  Oregon  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Platte.  They  feared  the  Indians 
who  roamed  over  rather  than  occupied  the  plains. 
Both  terrors  were  in  a  large  measure  groundless;  but 


132  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

the  Mormons  could  learn  this  only  by  experience ;  and 
until  that  experience  was  gained,  the  pioneer  company 
was  more  heavily  freighted  with  apprehensions  than 
with  provisions. 

There  was  another  peculiar  feature  of  the  Mormon 
migration.  They  did  not  know  where  they  were  go- 
ing. Some  had  talked  of  California  and  some  of  Ore- 
gon, and  all  had  recalled  Smith's  prophecy  that  his 
people  would  be  driven  beyond  the  Rocky  Muntains. 
They  meant  to  make  that  prophecy  true;  but  further 
than  that,  their  destination  was  sealed.  Brigham  gave 
no  information;  he  possessed  none.  They  were  going 
to  build  a  new  Zion  in  a  new  land,  he  said;  just  where 
he  did  not  know;  but  he  would  know  the  right  place 
when  he  came  to  it. 

Mormon  piety  has  construed  this  to  mean  that  Brig- 
ham  had  seen  the  destination  of  his  people  in  a  vision, 
and  that  he  meant  to  travel  until  the  place  of  that 
vision  was  reached.  Critical  history  may  hesitate  at 
this  pious  interpretation;  but  it  must  accord  Brigham 
a  control  of  his  people  more  wonderful  than  many 
clairvoyant  trances.  Joseph  would  have  described  the 
appointed  place  in  a  series  of  revelations;  and  had 
another  series  to  explain  the  Lord's  change  of  plan  if 
the  first  visions  became  impracticable.  Brigham  en- 
gaged in  no  claptrap.  He  simply  said :  "  Follow  me, 
and  I  will  lead  you  to  a  place  where  you  will  be 
safe  " — and  they  followed. 

They  moved  by  slow  stages  at  first,  until  men  and 
cattle  should  be  hardened  to  the  trail.  Camp  was 
made  by  the  usual  plains  formula  of  drawing  up  the 
wagons  in  a  circle  or  oval,  tongues  pointing  outward, 
with  a  hind  wheel  of  each  wagon  locked  to  the  fore 
wheel  of  its  neighbour  to  the  rear.    When  camp  was 


ACROSS  THE  DESERT  133 

made  by  a  stream,  the  wagons  were  formed  in  a  semi- 
circle, resting  on  the  water.  One  or  two  openings 
usually  were  left  in  the  cordon  to  drive  stock  in  and 
out. 

April  21,  a  week  after  starting,  the  emigrants  had 
the  pleasure  of  feeding  a  visiting  troop  of  Pawnees. 
Considering  the  capacity  of  the  Indian  commissary 
department  and  the  scantiness  of  Mormon  supplies, 
this  was  quite  a  task;  but  the  Mormons  were  glad  to 
come  through  it  without  bloodshed.  They  expected  an 
attack  that  night,  but  it  did  not  come.  As  already 
intimated,  the  Indians  were  a  source  of  awe,  rather 
than  of  danger.  They  had  had  little  experience  with 
the  white  man  as  yet,  and  did  not  view  him  with  any 
great  animosity.  They  coveted  his  horses  and  guns, 
and  their  socialistic  ideas  of  property  were  liable  to 
become  active  at  night — particularly  in  the  dark  of  the 
moon;  but  they  had  no  special  desire  for  paleface 
scalps.  Some  years  later,  when  hoodlums  en  route 
for  California  gold-fields  tried  to  prove  the  white 
man's  superior  civilization  by  shooting  an  inoffensive 
squaw,  there  was  serious  trouble. 

Nine  days  after  the  visit  of  the  Pawnees  the  Mor- 
mons had  their  first  interview  with  buffaloes.  A  herd 
of  sixty-five  animals  was  sighted  near  Grand  Island, 
and  an  impromptu  hunting  party  killed  eleven  with 
little  difficulty.  Instead  of  selecting  the  young  and 
tender  beasts,  as  they  learned  to  do  later,  these  amateur 
sportsmen  took  anything  from  a  sucking  calf  to  a 
patriarchal  bull  whose  flesh  would  test  the  jaws  of  a 
hyena.  Some  even  tried  to  kill  the  old  bulls  by  shoot- 
ing them  in  the  forehead.  A  modern  rifle  would  drive 
a  steel- jacketed  ball  through  even  a  buffalo's  head,  but 
the  soft  lead  bullets  of  that  day,  fired  with  a  small 


134  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

charge  of  black  powder,  simply  recoiled  from  the 
matted  hair  and  iron  skulls.  Ever  suspicious  of  mar- 
vels, the  Mormons  were  inclined  to  look  for  some  black 
magic  in  this,  but  when  a  bull  was  brought  down  by 
a  shot  in  some  more  vulnerable  portion  of  his  anatomy, 
the  explanation  was  clear. 

The  Mormons  were  travelling  up  the  left,  or  north, 
bank  of  the  Platte.  The  Oregon  trail  lay  south  of  the 
river;  a  well-broken  route  for  those  days,  on  which 
good  pasture  and  company  for  protection  from  the 
Indians  were  assured.  But  south  of  the  river,  also, 
were  companies  of  their  old  enemies  of  Missouri,  and 
Brigham  feared  it  w^ould  not  be  well  for  the  Saints 
of  the  Lord  and  the  sinners  of  Governor  Boggs  to 
come  together.  He  decided  that  the  Mormons  would 
keep  north  of  the  Platte,  at  least  until  they  reached 
Fort  Laramie.  They  were  a  peculiar  people,  seeking 
a  place  to  build  a  peculiar  Zion,  and  they  would  go  by 
their  own  peculiar  trail.  Thus  it  came  that  Brigham 
broke  the  "  Old  Mormon  Road  " — ^now  followed  mile 
after  mile  by  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad. 

For  many  days  after  their  first  hunt,  the  Mormons 
moved  among  the  herds  of  buffalo.  Often  the  stupid, 
shaggy  brutes  were  so  numerous  and  close  that  horse- 
men had  to  be  sent  in  advance  to  scare  them  out  of 
the  path  of  the  wagons.  The  men  feasted  in  such 
surroundings,  but  Brigham  forbade  needless  killing. 
Coyotes  followed  the  buffalo  herd,  waiting  for  a 
chance  to  hamstring  a  calf;  and  on  May  4,  the  Mor- 
mons encountered  other  pensioners  of  the  bison — the 
Indians.  A  band  of  four  hundred  was  reported  to  be 
in  the  trail  ahead,  and  manifesting  warlike  intent.  The 
party  advanced  with  wagons  five  abreast  and  every  one 
on  the  qui  vive  till  a  good  camping-place  was  reached. 


ACROSS  THE  DESERT  136 

Double  sentries  were  posted  that  night.  Again  their 
expectations  of  attack  were  disappointed,  though  had 
they  been  less  cautious,  the  danger  might  have  de- 
scended. The  Indians  contented  themselves  with  set- 
ting fire  to  the  prairie  grass.  Naturally,  the  Mormons 
believed  this  illumination  was  intended  for  their  an- 
noyance, but  it  was  a  well-known  habit  of  both  Paw- 
nees and  Sioux  to  burn  the  dry  prairie  in  the  spring, 
that  the  fresh  grass  which  followed  might  attract  the 
buffalo.  A  change  of  wind  and  a  shower  checked  the 
flames  and  the  party  advanced  next  morning  as  usual. 
They  met  no  opposition,  but  the  wily  Indians  man- 
aged to  steal  some  of  their  horses  during  the  next  few 
nights. 

The  party  were  breaking  trail  for  those  left  behind 
at  Winter  Quarters,  and  much  ingenuity  was  expended 
in  conveying  information  to  the  host  that  should  fol- 
low. Two  of  the  pioneers  had  devised  a  cyclometer, 
which  measured  distances  by  the  revolutions  of  the 
wheels  of  a  wagon;  and  every  ten  miles  they  set  up 
a  guide  post.  The  cyclometer  was  probably  not  very 
accurate,  but  its  records  were  checked  by  solar  obser- 
vations. Sextants  had  been  brought  from  England  the 
winter  before  for  this  very  purpose,  and  Orson  Pratt 
attended  to  '*  taking  the  sun."  Later,  when  the  moun- 
tains were  reached,  he  made  many  measurements  of 
altitude.  A  large  packet  of  letters  was  sent  back  to 
Winter  Quarters  by  Charles  Beaumont,  a  French  fur- 
trader  who  forded  the  Platte  to  visit  the  Mormon 
camp.  Buffalo  skulls  were  common  along  the  route, 
and  messages  were  marked  on  these,  and  left  con- 
spicuously on  the  trail.  On  May  lo,  the  company 
went  still  farther  in  this  line,  and  established  the  first 
of  the  "Mormon  post-offices";  leaving  a  letter  in  a 


1S6  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

box  fastened  to  a  stout  pole.  This  "  post-office  '*  was 
about  three  hundred  miles  from  Winter  Quarters. 

They  had  experienced  no  serious  danger,  and  the 
human  members  of  the  party  were  well  fed,  though 
on  more  of  a  meat  diet  than  would  be  recommended 
by  starvation  specialists  to-day.  But  draught  animals 
cannot  eat  game,  and  during  this  month  of  May,  it 
seemed  as  if  there  were  little  else  to  eat.  The  Indians 
had  continued  their  prairie-burning  tactics.  Whether 
this  was  done  to  call  the  buffalo  or  to  drive  away  the 
white  man,  its  results  were  the  same.  What  grass 
was  left  by  the  flames  was  eaten  by  buffaloes.  In- 
creased rations  of  grain  were  given  the  animals,  than 
a  part  of  the  slender  supply  of  crackers  and  bread- 
stuffs;  and  still  the  oxen  and  horses  lost  flesh,  and 
often  the  night  would  find  them  only  five  or  six  miles 
from  their  starting  place.  On  June  i,  when  they 
lumbered  into  camp  opposite  Fort  Laramie,  it  was 
clear  that  they  would  have  to  find  a  better  trail,  or 
their  cattle  would  never  cany  them  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Brigham  and  some  elders  ferried  the 
river  in  a  skin  boat  brought  along  for  such  uses,  and 
were  told  by  the  commander  of  the  fort  that  to  travel 
farther  on  the  north  side  of  the  Platte  was  well-nigh 
impossible.  They  were  ready  now  to  listen  to  the 
word.  A  ferryboat  was  procured,  and  the  entire 
party  crossed  to  the  south  side. 

Even  before  crossing,  however,  they  had  received 
a  band  of  reinforcements.  A  party  of  Mormons  from 
Mississippi  had  gone  west  on  the  Santa  Fe  trail  to 
Pueblo,  where  they  passed  the  winter  along  with  the 
invalids  who  had  been  left  behind  from  the  Mormon 
battalion.  Seventeen  of  these  Mississippians,  most 
of  them  belonging  to  two  families,  had  come  to  Fort 


ACROSS  THE  DESERT  1S7 

Laramie,  to  intercept  and  join  the  general  westward 
emigration  of  the  Saints.  They  brought  word  that 
members  of  the  battalion  expected  to  be  ordered  to 
California,  though  their  term  of  enlistment  would 
expire  before  they  could  reach  the  coast.  As  it  hap- 
pened, the  order  was  not  given.  The  invalided  mem- 
bers of  the  Mormon  battalion  were  already  marching 
north  to  join  their  brethren. 

Fort  Laramie  was  a  trading-post  maintained  by  the 
American  Fur  Company;  and  naturally  was  com- 
manded by  a  Frenchman.  Fur  companies  must  deal 
with  natives  on  friendly  terms,  and  that  is  an  art 
the  French  learned  from  their  coureurs  de  hois  while 
our  Puritan  ancestors  were  burning  Pequods  in  their 
camp  in  New  England.  Captain  Bordeaux  compli- 
mented the  Mormons  on  the  good  behaviour  of  their 
party,  and  gave  them  information  of  the  difficult  route 
ahead.  A  halt  was  made  to  mend  the  wagons;  but 
while  this  was  going  on,  Brigham  did  a  shrewd  stroke 
of  business  for  the  necessitous  Saints. 

A  party  of  Missourians,  among  them  no  less  a  per- 
son than  former  Governor  Boggs,  had  just  passed  Fort 
Laramie,  on  the  Oregon  trail.  One  hundred  and 
twenty-four  miles  west  of  the  fort,  the  trail  crossed 
the  river  once  more;  and  the  stream  was  much  too 
high  to  be  forded.  Since  he  must  needs  travel  by  the 
same  route  as  the  Gentiles,  Brigham  determined  to 
turn  the  fact  to  account,  and  sent  on  a  trusty  party 
with  the  skin  boat  to  the  next  crossing.  Going  light, 
the  boat  crew  reached  the  crossing  ahead  of  the  Mis- 
souri party,  and  the  Gentiles  were  glad  to  be  ferried 
across.  They  paid  for  this  service  in  provisions—* 
flour,  sugar,  and  bacon — and  at  Missouri  prices. 
Flour  was  worth  $io  per  hundred  at  Fort  Laramie; 


138  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

but  the  ferrymen  were  paid  in  flour  rated  at  $2.50 
per  hundred,  with  other  provisions  marked  down  on  a 
similar  scale. 

"  These  supplies  were  as  timely  as  they  were  totally 
unexpected,"  says  the  church  historian,  Whitney. 
"  Their  [the  Mormons']  provisions  were  well-nigh 
exhausted,  and  to  have  their  flour  and  meal  bags  re- 
plenished in  this  far-off  region,  and  at  the  hands  of 
their  old  enemies,  the  Missourians,  was  regarded  by 
them  as  little  less  than  a  miracle.  Apostle  Woodruff 
compared  it  to  the  feeding  of  Israel  with  manna  in 
the  wilderness."  With  the  usual  partiality  of  zealots, 
the  Mormons  thanked  the  Lord  for  this  windfall, 
rather  than  the  Missourians. 

Amasa  Lyman  and  three  companions  were  sent  on 
horseback  to  Pueblo  to  bring  on  the  main  body  of  the 
Mississippi  Mormons,  while  the  seventeen  at  Fort 
Laramie  went  forward  with  Brigham  and  his  com- 
pany. They  started  again  June  4,  and  went  by  easy 
stages  to  allow  their  famished  cattle  to  graze  and  pick 
up  a  little  strength  before  reaching  the  mountains. 
It  was  June  19  before  they  had  again  crossed  the 
Platte.  The  ferry  had  done  such  good  work  that  nine 
men  were  left  to  keep  it  going  until  the  next  company 
of  Saints  came  along,  when  the  ferrymen  were  to 
leave  their  boat  in  other  hands,  and  continue  the 
march.     It  proved  a  profitable  venture. 

Now  began  the  final  climb  up  the  Continental 
Divide  to  South  Pass.  The  nights  grew  cool,  and  the 
trail  was  steep;  but  the  tales  which  had  been  told 
them  of  deep  snows  proved  untrue,  and  for  days 
after  leaving  the  Platte  they  had  plenty  of  grass.  On 
June  26,  they  crossed  South  Pass,  and  seemed  sur- 
prised to  find  that  instead  of  a  steep,  walled  cleft. 


ACROSS  THE  DESERT  139 

the  famous  pass  was  no  more  than  a  "  quietly  undulat- 
ing plain,  or  prairie."  Two  days  later,  they  reached 
the  point  where  the  Oregon  and  California  trails  sep- 
arated, and  taking  the  left-hand  trail,  they  once  more 
parted  company  with  the  road  travelled  by  the  migrat- 
ing Missourians.  That  evening  they  met  Colonel 
James  Bridger,  who  maintained  a  "  fort,"  or  trading- 
post,  of  his  own  on  Black's  Fork,  some  hundred  miles 
or  more  east  of  Salt  Lake. 

Brigham  questioned  the  colonel  about  the  Salt  Lake 
country  with  a  persistence  indicating  that  he  had  al- 
ready formed  some  notion  of  settling  there.  Bridger 
gave  emphatic  judgment  that  the  region  was  of  no 
agricultural  use.  Farther  south,  the  country  was 
more  promising,  he  said;  and  if  they  would  make 
slaves  of  the  Indians  instead  of  killing  them,  they 
might  rub  along  somehow;  but  he  would  give  $i,ooo 
for  the  first  ear  of  corn  they  raised  in  the  Salt  Lake 
valley. 

Colonel  Bridger  was  not  much  happier  as  a  geo- 
graphical prophet  and  agricultural  surveyor  than 
Daniel  Webster. 

Travelling  was  hard,  and  sickness  had  begun  to 
show  in  the  company;  but  few  days  passed  without 
some  enlivening  event.  On  July  i,  they  met  Elder 
Samuel  Brannan,  who  in  February  of  the  year  before 
had  led  a  party  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  Mor- 
mons to  California  by  sea.  Things  had  not  gone  al- 
together well  with  these  Saints  on  the  Coast,  Brannan 
reported,  but  he  believed  that  California  was  the  right 
place  in  which  to  build  the  new  Zion,  and  had  come 
eastward  with  a  few  companions  to  convert  Brigham 
to  the  same  opinion.  That  he  did  not  succeed  is  per- 
haps due  as  much  to  the  impossibility  of  moving  the 


140  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

whole  church  across  the  continent  to  California  as  to 
Brigham's  prophetic  disinclination  to  go  there. 

July  4,  the  advance  guard  of  thirteen  members  of 
the  Mormon  battalion  from  Pueblo  came  into  camp, 
reporting  that  the  rest  of  the  party,  one  hundred  and 
forty  in  number,  were  not  far  behind.  Three  days 
later,  the  pioneers  reached  Fort  Bridger.  The  post, 
famous  across  a  continent,  consisted  of  two  incom- 
parably dirty  log-houses  on  one  of  the  islands  of 
Black's  Fork.  The  Mormons  camped  a  half  mile  be- 
yond Bridger,  and  that  night  ice  formed  at  their 
camp.  They  must  have  recalled  the  colonel's  dismal 
prophecies  as  they  gazed  on  this  token  of  midsummer 
frosts. 

Making  slow  progress  when  in  motion  and  stopping 
frequently  to  shoe  horses,  repair  wagons,  and  rest  the 
sick,  the  party  struggled  forward.  Bad  as  the  roads 
were,  sickness  had  now  become  their  chief  difficulty. 
They  were  in  the  grip  of  "mountain  fever";  an  un- 
identified malady  whose  name  has  since  been  applied 
to  mild  cases  of  typhoid  occurring  in  those  high  alti- 
tudes. July  12,  Young,  who  had  been  ailing  for  some 
days,  was  too  sick  to  travel,  and  an  advance  guard  of 
forty-three  men  and  twenty-two  wagons  was  sent 
ahead  to  break  trail.  Orson  Pratt  was  put  in  com- 
mand of  this  scouting  party — if  the  term  scout  can 
be  applied  to  an  explorer  who  travels  with  ox-teams. 

They  were  now  fairly  engaged  in  the  country  of 
deep-cut  canons  and  tumbled  mountains.  They 
crossed  one  creek  thirteen  times  in  going  eight  miles. 
Some  days,  though  travelling  light,  they  rested  at 
night  only  four  miles  from  their  starting  place.  Or- 
son Pratt  and  Erastus  Snow  climbed  several  eleva- 
tions and  explored  in  vain  for  a  more  promising  trail. 


ACROSS  THE  DESERT  141 

At  last,  on  July  19,  Pratt  and  Snow  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  valley;  and  three  days  later  their  party  was 
camped  where  now  stands  Salt  Lake  City.  While 
still  entangled  in  the  mountains,  a  messenger  from 
Brigham  overtook  them,  telling  them  to  halt  and  be- 
gin putting  in  a  crop  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  val- 
ley. When  the  sick  chief  joined  them,  July  24,  quite 
a  field  had  been  irrigated,  ploughed,  and  planted. 

"  This  is  the  right  place,"  he  said  when  they  halted 
on  a  summit  to  give  him  his  first  glimpse  of  the  valley. 
"Drive  on!'' 


XV 

FOUNDING  OF  ZION 

"  T  T  was  no  Garden  of  the  Hesperides  upon  which 
I  the  Pioneers  gazed  upon  that  memorable  July 
"*"  morning,"  remarks  the  church  historian,  Whit- 
ney, in  a  burst  of  pious  rhapsody  which  Mark  Twain 
would  have  hailed  with  delight.  The  remark  contained 
rather  more  sound  than  sense,  but  such  meaning  as  it 
does  hold  is  true.  Brigham  might  declare  this  the 
right  place  to  stop — for  the  obvious  reason  that  he 
could  lead  his  people  no  farther;  Erastus  Snow  might 
indulge  in  wild  hurrahs  as  he  looked  down  from  the 
hills.  But  the  plain  fact  was  that  the  Salt  Lake  Val- 
ley, viewed  with  eyes  which  had  been  accustomed  to 
the  verdure  of  Illinois,  seemed  a  gray,  desolate  waste, 
parching  under  a  midsummer  sun.  At  the  foothills 
was  rich  grass;  on  the  banks  of  the  few  and  slender 
streams  was  a  promising  growth  of  trees.  The  sky 
above  was  that  deep,  glorious,  vital,  shimmering  blue 
which  only  the  western  mountain-lands  can  show;  a 
blue  varying  from  palest  turquoise  to  deepest  azure, 
and  always  with  a  warm,  living  quality  which  the 
skies  of  moister  lands  never  possess.  The  mountains 
that  rimmed  this  basin  were  as  splendid  then  as 
now;  and  then  as  now  the  great  lake  lay  like  a  change- 
ful mirror  in  the  sun.  But  instead  of  the  fertile  fields, 
prosperous  farms,  rich  orchards,  and  avenues  of  trees 
that  the  valley  holds  to-day,  the  chief  feature  was  the 
sombre  sage  growing  out  of  an  ashen  soil. 

14d 


FOUNDING  OF  ZION  143 

"  Weak  and  weary  as  I  am,  I  would  rather  go  a 
thousand  miles  farther  than  remain  in  such  a  for- 
saken place  as  this/'  declared  Harriet  Young,  wife 
of  Brigham's  brother  Lorenzo,  and  mother  of  his  own 
present  spouse.  She  saw  the  place  as  it  was.  Her 
brother-in-law-son-in-law — relationships  are  apt  to  be 
a  bit  complicated  in  Mormon  households — saw  the 
place  as  he  hoped  to  make  it;  and  he  knew,  moreover, 
that  Mormon  resources  were  not  equal  to  moving  on 
to  the  next  place  where  settlement  was  known  to  be 
possible. 

Brigham  arrived  in  the  valley  to  find  several  acres 
already  planted  to  crops.  The  pioneers  began  plough- 
ing on  City  Creek  July  23,  the  day  after  their  arrival, 
but  they  found  the  work  very  different  from  what 
they  had  known  it  on  the  moist  prairies  of  the  Missis- 
sippi valley.  Several  ploughs  were  broken  in  the 
hard,  sun-baked  soil,  and  then  some  genius  suggested 
flooding  it  with  water  from  the  creek.  A  rude  dam, 
such  as  boys  use  to  make  a  "  swimming-hole,"  was 
thrown  across  City  creek,  and  several  acres  of  the 
low-lying  bottoms  were  drenched.  After  that,  plough- 
ing went  better. 

Such  were  the  humble  beginnings  of  American 
irrigation.  So  far  as  known,  the  Mormons  were  the 
first  men  of  English  speech  to  carry  water  to  the  soil. 
They  did  it  in  a  crude  awkward  way  at  first,  for  such 
is  the  manner  of  early  greatness.  But  they  started  a 
system  of  agriculture  which  has  grown  until,  to-day, 
fifteen  million  acres  in  the  United  States  are  under 
irrigation.  Rivers  have  been  turned  from  their 
courses,  streams  have  been  carried  across  the  Con- 
tinental Divide,  artificial  lakes  have  been  created  back 
of  dams  so  gigantic  as  to  seem  rather  like  works  of 


144.  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

nature  than  upbuildings  of  man,  to  bring  the  life-giving 
waters  to  the  thirsty  earth.  Cities  are  fed  from  lands 
whose  natural  rainfall  would  scarcely  raise  a  fair 
crop  of  sage  brush;  and  thousands  of  miles  of  rail- 
roads derive  their  revenue  from  the  products  of  irri- 
gated fields.  When  the  Mormon  of  to-day  boasts  that 
his  ancestors  turned  a  desert  into  a  garden,  and  pointed 
the  way  in  which  the  aching  desolation  of  the  Ameri- 
can Sahara  might  be  made  to  yield  sustenance  for 
man,  he  is  treading  on  safe  ground.    The  boast  is  true. 

The  honour  of  having  turned  the  first  furrow  in 
the  Salt  Lake  valley  is  claimed  by  several.  The  hon- 
our of  planting  the  first  potatoes  seems  to  belong  to 
Wilford  Woodruff,  already  one  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles,  and  destined  to  become  president  of  the 
church.  He  had  some  potatoes  which  he  was  saving 
for  seed;  and  though  hungry  and  thirsty  when  he 
reached  the  newly  ploughed  field,  vowed  that  he  would 
neither  eat  nor  drink  until  he  had  started  a  crop. 
Wheat  and  buckwheat  were  planted  that  day,  as  well 
as  potatoes. 

The  first  company  of  pioneer  Mormons,  as  already 
stated,  reached  the  valley  on  Thursday,  July  22,  1847. 
Brigham  did  not  arrive  until  Saturday,  but  Pioneers' 
Day  in  Utah  falls  on  the  twenty- fourth  of  the  month, 
rather  than  on  the  twenty-second.  Not  the  arrival 
of  the  leading  company,  not  even  the  planting  of  the 
first  crop,  is  so  significant  in  the  eyes  of  the  Mormon 
people  as  the  arrival  of  the  pioneer  prince  and  priest, 
who  ruled  them  with  a  rod  of  iron  for  their  good  and 
his  own  satisfaction. 

At  religious  services  next  day,  Orson  Pratt  was 
preacher.    His  text  was  from  Isaiah : 

"  How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet 


FOUNDING  OF  ZION  146 

of  him  that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  publisheth 
peace;  that  bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that  pub- 
lisheth salvation;  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy  God 
reigneth ! 

"Thy  watchman  shall  lift  up  the  voice;  with  the 
voice  together  shall  they  sing;  for  they  shall  see  eye 
to  eye  when  the  Lord  shall  bring  again  Zion." 

Difficult  as  it  may  be  for  the  reader  to-day  to  grasp 
the  fact,  this  learned  man  and  sunburned  pioneer  held 
that  the  words  of  his  text  were  a  prophecy,  applying 
directly  and  exclusively  to  the  company  assembled  be- 
fore him,  and  their  followers  who  should  join  in  the 
building  of  the  new  City  of  God. 

When  Pratt  had  finished  expounding  his  theme, 
Brigham  addressed  a  few  words  to  the  congregation. 
He  was  too  weak  to  stand,  and  spoke  from  his  arm- 
chair, but  his  words  were  those  of  a  master.  Wilford 
Woodruff  reports  that  speech  as  follows: 

"  He  told  the  brethren  that  they  must  not  work  on 
Sunday;  that  they  would  lose  five  times  as  much  as 
they  would  gain  by  doing  it.  None  were  to  hunt  or 
fish  on  that  day,  and  there  should  not  any  man  dwell 
among  us  who  woidd  not  observe  these  rides.  They 
might  go  and  dwell  where  they  pleased,  but  should 
not  dwell  with  us.  He  also  said  that  no  man  who 
came  here  should  buy  any  land;  that  he  had  none  to 
sell;  but  every  man  should  have  his  land  measured 
out  to  him  for  city  and  farming  purposes.  He  might 
till  it  as  he  pleased,  but  he  must  be  industrious  and 
take  care  of  it/' 

The  italics  are  ours,  and  we  think  they  are  de- 
served. The  confident,  complacent  despotism  of  those 
italicised  words  has  never  been  surpassed.  Brigham's 
assurance  is  too  great  to  be  called  impudence,  too 


146  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

great  even  to  be  classified  under  the  irregular  but  ex- 
pressive title  of  "  nerve."  It  approaches  the  sublime. 
This  sick  exile  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  expatriated 
ragamuffins  proceeds  to  lay  down  a  law  for  them  and 
for  all  who  should  come  after  them.  He  does  not  ask 
their  advice  nor  seek  their  consent.  He  tells  them 
what  the  law  is.  He  serves  notice  that  he  is  the  czar 
of  the  region  in  which  their  tents  are  pitched;  and 
that  any  who  question  his  authority  or  break  his  rules 
must  leave.  He  assumes  not  merely  rulership  of  the 
valley  but  ownership  of  its  soil,  declares  himself  ready 
to  share  that  ownership  on  terms  and  conditions,  but 
not  for  money;  and  announces  that  he  will  distribute 
acres  as  seemeth  good  in  his  sight,  and  that  those  who 
receive  land  of  his  favour  must  till  it  in  such  manner 
as  to  win  his  approval. 

If  anything  is  more  amazing  than  the  colossal  as- 
surance of  this  speech,  it  is  the  fact  that  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  Brigham  made  it  good. 

It  is  worth  while,  also,  to  notice  Brigham's  insist- 
ence on  Sabbath  observance  and  the  utilitarian  reason 
he  gave  for  the  same — that  Sunday  work  could  not 
prosper.  The  essential  Calvinism  of  the  man's  nature 
never  showed  more  clearly  than  here.  Brigham 
Young  was  a  son  of  New  England,  albeit  a  son  whom 
New  England  only  mentions  in  a  whisper  when  call- 
ing the  roll  of  her  great  ones.  He  built  an  empire 
and  sustained  a  faith  on  which  New  England  looks 
with  abhorrence;  he  extended  and  perpetuated,  though 
he  did  not  originate,  a  marriage  system  of  which  New 
England  deems  it  almost  a  sin  to  speak.  But  deep 
down  in  his  heart,  Brigham  Young  remained  a  New 
England  Puritan  to  the  day  of  his  death.  His  was 
the  Puritan's  domineering  temper,  the  Puritan's  self- 


FOUNDING  OF  ZION  147 

righteousness,  the  Puritan's  impatience  with  other  peo- 
ple's sins;  and  his,  likewise,  the  Puritan's  abiding  faith 
in  the  virtue  of  work,  the  advantage  of  thrift,  and  the 
necessity  of  keeping  on  the  good  side  of  a  testy-tem- 
pered Providence. 

On  Monday,  July  26,  three  exploring  parties  were 
organized  to  spy  out  the  land.  Brigham  told  them  to 
search  diligently,  warning  them  that  they  would  not 
find  any  place  so  good  as  the  one  where  the  camp 
was  pitched.  He  was  well  enough  to  accompany  one 
of  these  parties,  resting  in  a  carriage.  His  little 
prophecy  proved  correct.  On  July  28,  this  party  re- 
turned, Brigham  left  his  carriage,  struck  his  cane  on 
the  ground,  and  said :  "  Here  will  be  the  temple  of 
our  God.  Here  are  the  forty  acres  for  the  temple. 
The  city  can  be  laid  out  perfectly  square,  north  and 
south,  east  and  west."  This  was  not  a  prophecy,  it 
was  an  order;  and  the  order  was  obeyed.  The  forty 
acres  originally  spoken  of  for  the  temple  block  were 
cut  down  to  ten;  but  the  temple  stands  where  Brigham 
struck  with  his  cane;  and  north,  south,  east,  and  west, 
the  regular  squares  of  Salt  Lake  City  offer  perhaps 
the  most  perfect  example  of  checkerboard  city  archi- 
tecture in  America. 

Other  parties  came  in  later;  but  all  agreed  that  the 
site  selected  by  Brigham  was  the  proper  one  for  their 
city.  They  would  have  yielded  to  his  will  in  any 
event;  but,  as  was  usually  the  case,  Brigham  had  made 
the  right  decision.  While  exploring  was  going  on, 
other  pioneers  were  ploughing  and  planting,  and  all 
in  all,  eighty-three  acres  of  grain  and  potatoes  were 
planted  within  a  few  days.  The  season  was  too  late, 
and  the  cultivators  were  too  unskilled  in  the  new 
science  of  irrigation,  to  allow  any  crops  to  be  a  sue- 


148  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

cess;  but  at  least  they  raised  potatoes  that  made  splen- 
did seed  for  the  next  season. 

July  29,  Captain  James  Brown  came  into  camp, 
bringing  with  him  that  part  of  the  Mormon  battalion 
which  had  been  left  at  Pueblo  and  the  Mississippi 
Mormons  who  had  camped  there  through  the  previous 
winter.  Men,  women,  and  children,  the  newcomers 
numbered  two  hundred  and  forty  persons,  and  brought 
with  them  sixty  wagons,  a  hundred  horses  and  mules, 
and  some  three  hundred  head  of  cattle.  The  term  for 
which  the  battalion  had  enlisted  had  now  expired,  and 
after  a  stay  of  some  days  in  camp.  Captain  Brown 
went  on  to  California  with  a  small  guard,  to  collect 
the  pay  due  his  soldiers.  The  men  themselves  re- 
mained in  the  valley,  or  took  the  backward  trail  to 
join  their  families  on  the  road  or  in  Winter 
Quarters. 

Brigham  had  already  decided  that  a  fort  was  neces- 
sary for  protection,  Indians  of  the  Ute  and  Shoshone 
tribes  had  come  to  the  Mormon  camp.  Though  they 
seemed  good-natured  enough,  they  showed  the  same 
thieving  propensities  as  their  brethren  on  the  plains, 
and  Brigham  had  all  a  New  Englander's  distrust  of 
the  red  man.  The  fort,  he  decided,  should  be  built 
in  the  form  of  a  quadrangle — in  reality  a  succession 
of  log  or  adobe  cabins,  joined  end  to  end,  and  built 
around  a  square.  Elder  Brannan,  who  had  been  for 
a  season  in  California,  advocated  adobe,  or  sun-dried 
bricks,  for  construction;  but  the  men  from  the  east 
preferred  logs.  Both  materials  were  used.  Several 
members  of  the  company  reported  themselves  as  brick- 
makers;  and  every  full-grown  man  those  days  could 
swing  an  axe  and  notch  a  log  for  building.  August 
2,  Orson  Pratt  began  surveying  the  "  city  foursquare," 


FOUNDING  OF  ZION  149 

while  Heber  Kimball's  team  were  sent  to  the  canons 
to  haul  down  logs  for  the  "  fort." 

The  same  day,  Ezra  T.  Benson  and  "  Port "  Rock- 
well, were  sent  east  on  horseback  to  meet  the  Saints 
who  were  following  on  the  pioneer  trail.  They  carried 
a  letter,  of  which  the  following  is  part: 

Pioneer  Camp,  Valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake, 
August  2,  1847. 
To  Gen.  Charles  C.  Rich  and  the  President  and 
Officers  of  the  Emigrating  Company. 
Dear    Brethren:    We    have    delegated    our    beloved 
brother,  Ezra  T.  Benson,  and  escort,  to  communicate  to 
you  by  express  the  cheering  intelligence  that  we  have 
arrived  in  the  most  beautiful  valley  of  the  Great  Salt 
Lake ;  that  every  soul  who  left  Winter  Quarters  with  us 
is  alive,  and  almost  every  one  in  good  health.     That  por- 
tion of  the  Battalion  that  was  at  Pueblo  are  here  with  us, 
together  with  the  Mississippi  company  that  accompanied 
them,  and  they  are  generally  well.     We  number  about 
four  hundred  souls,  and  we  know  of  no  one  but  is  pleased 
with  the  situation.     We  have  commenced  the  survey  of 
a  city  this  morning.   .    .    .   Let  all  the  brethren  and  sis- 
ters cheer  up  their  hearts  and  know  assuredly  that  God 
has  heard  and  has  answered  their  prayers  and  ours,  and 
led  us  to  a  goodly  land,  and  our  souls  are  satisfied  there- 
with.  ...   In  behalf  of  the  council, 

(Signed)  Brigham  Young,  President. 

WiLLARD  Richards,  Clerk. 

Either  Harriet  Young  and  Ellen  Kimball  had  been 
converted  to  a  more  joyful  mood,  or  their  forebodings 
were  disregarded  in  this  message  of  cheer. 

On  August  6,  Brigham  and  all  Apostles  who  were 
with  him  "  renewed  their  covenants  by  baptism." 
Brigham  baptised  his  brethren,  confirming  them  and 


150  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

"resealing  upon  each  his  apostleship " ;  and  Heber 
Kimball,  second  in  authority  to  Brigham  in  the  Quorum 
of  the  Twelve,  performed  the  same  office  for  his  chief. 
Their  persons,  and  therefore  their  deeds,  being  re- 
sanctified  in  this  manner,  they  spent  the  next  day  in 
"selecting  their  inheritances";  or  picking  out  their 
blocks  in  the  newly  surveyed  "  city."  Brigham  took 
two  blocks  east  of  the  temple,  Heber  Kimball  chose  a 
block  north  of  one  of  Brigham's,  and  the  other 
Apostles  present  picked  their  locations  or  had  such  as- 
signed to  them  at  the  will  of  their  omnipotent  chief. 
Further  inheritances  of  farming  lands  were  selected 
later. 

For  some  days  following,  there  was  much  earnest 
work,  but  little  of  a  character  to  be  noted  by  the  his- 
torian. The  fort  was  pushed  as  fast  as  the  means  at 
the  disposal  of  the  pioneers  would  permit.  Men  were 
sent  to  the  lake  to  boil  salt,  and  returned  with  a  wagon- 
load  of  the  precious  stuff  which  they  had  shovelled  up 
as  from  a  sand-beach.  Orson  Pratt  took  observations 
to  determine  the  altitude,  and  computed  the  temple 
block  to  be  4,309  feet  above  sea-level.  August  16, 
forty-six  members  of  the  battalion  and  twenty-four 
pioneers  set  out  on  the  return  journey  to  Winter 
Quarters,  to  join  their  families.  They  remeasured  the 
distance  with  an  improved  cyclometer,  and  reckoned 
it  one  thousand  and  thirty-two  miles  from  Winter 
Quarters  on  the  Missouri  to  the  camp  in  the  valley. 
The  distance  by  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  from 
Omaha  to  Salt  Lake  City  is  one  thousand  and  thirty- 
seven  miles. 

Finally,  on  August  26,  Brigham  himself  with  his 
Apostles  and  a  company  totalling  one  hundred  and 
eight  men,  started  on  the  return  journey.     He  felt 


FOUNDING  OF  ZION  161 

that  he  was  more  needed  in  Winter  Quarters  than  in 
the  Salt  Lake  valley.  He  had  seen  the  city  "  laid  out," 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  ten-acre  blocks,  with 
streets  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet  wide  between. 
He  had  bestowed  on  this  embryo  metropolis  the  name 
of  Great  Salt  Lake  City,  and  only  one  of  these  many 
syllables  has  been  dropped  from  the  present  title.  He 
left  the  fort  partly  done,  twenty-nine  houses  of  the 
quadrangle  being  completed.  Lastly  he  left  advice, 
and  one  bit  of  that  advice  is  worth  quoting  here: 
"  Build  your  houses  so  that  you  will  have  plenty  of 
fresh  air  in  them,  or  some  of  you  will  get  sick  after 
sleeping  in  wagons  so  long." 

Such  parts  of  the  homeward  journey  as  deal  with 
meetings  with  the  emigrating  brethren  belong  to  an- 
other chapter.  Brigham  and  his  followers  reached 
Winter  Quarters  October  31.  There,  five  weeks  later, 
December  5,  1847,  the  First  Presidency  of  the  church, 
discontinued  since  the  murder  of  Joseph,  was  re- 
established. Brigham  Young  was  made  president  of 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints,  and 
Heber  C.  Kimball  and  Willard  Richards  were  "sus- 
tained "  as  his  counsellors. 


XVI 

SIGNS  AND  MIRACLES 

LESS  than  two  hundred  persons  were  left  at  the 
little  fort  in  Salt  Lake  valley,  among  them  the 
■  three  women  who  had  accompanied  the  pioneers 
on  their  outward  march.  The  little  garrison  was  not 
wholly  dependent  on  immigration  for  reinforcements. 
One  white  child  was  born  in  the  valley  August  9, 
daughter  of  a  member  of  the  Mormon  battalion  and 
his  devoted  wife,  who  had  accompanied  him  on  his 
soldiering,  wintered  with  him  at  Pueblo,  made  the  long 
march  from  that  camp  to  Salt  Lake,  and  arrived  in 
the  valley  only  a  few  days  before  her  confinement. 
For  some  unknown  reason,  this  child's  parents  wished 
to  honour  the  Virgin  Queen  of  England  as  well  as  the 
polygamous  emperor  of  the  Mormon  church;  and  the 
unlucky  infant  was  christened  "  Young  Elizabeth 
Steele."  It  survived,  in  spite  of  such  a  handicap. 
Harriet  Young,  wife  of  Brigham's  brother  Lorenzo, 
presented  her  husband  with  another  heir  shortly  after 
he  left  the  valley  on  his  trip  back  to  Winter  Quarters. 
Other  births  were  chronicled  in  the  camp  that  winter. 
Immigration,  however,  was  the  main  source  of  in- 
crease; and  a  party  nearly  eight  times  as  numerous  as 
the  little  garrison  was  already  nearing  the  valley  from 
Winter  Quarters.  As  soon  as  Brigham  and  the  pio- 
neer squadron  had  left  in  April,  the  remaining  leaders 
began  to  organize  a  second  and  larger  troop,  which 
is  known  in  Mormon  records  as  the  "  first  emigra- 

152 


SIGNS  AND  MIRACLES  15S 

tion."  Like  the  pioneers,  the  first  emigration  formed 
a  gathering  camp  on  the  Elkhorn.  The  leading  com- 
pany of  this  new  emigration  left  this  rendezvous 
June  1 8,  1847;  the  rearguard  got  away  July  4.  It 
was  a  rather  odd  coincidence  that  the  death  of  an 
empire  and  the  birth  of  a  republic  should  be  recalled 
in  the  dates  of  this  one  expedition,  but  no  one  seems 
to  have  noticed  it.  The  rearguard  doubtless  thought 
it  was  setting  out  for  a  land  of  freedom;  but  assur- 
edly the  vanguard  had  no  expectation  of  meeting  a 
Waterloo. 

John  Young,  brother  of  Brigham,  was  commander- 
in-chief  of  this  expedition.  There  were  five  hundred 
and  sixty-six  wagons  on  the  march  and  one  thousand 
five  hundred  and  fifty-three  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren. They  had  three  thousand  one  hundred  oxen 
and  other  cattle,  and  a  considerable  band  of  horses, 
besides  sheep,  hogs,  and  chickens.  The  emigration 
was  divided  into  four  companies  of  "  hundreds,"  each 
with  a  captain  at  its  head.  Under  each  captain  of 
a  hundred  were  two  "  captains  over  fifties,"  and  ten 
or  twelve  "  captains  over  tens."  The  naming  might 
be  antiquated  and  biblical;  but  the  organization  was 
practical  to  the  last  degree,  and  proved  its  value  more 
than  once. 

There  were  no  great  obstacles  to  surmount  in  this 
emigration,  though  there  was  a  long  season  of  weary 
toil  and  considerable  hardship.  Their  road  lay 
plainly  before  them,  with  a  guide-post  planted  every 
ten  miles  by  the  brethren  who  had  gone  before.  The 
leading  company  was  commanded  by  Daniel  Spencer, 
a  man  whose  fidelity  had  been  tested  in  many  ways 
during  his  membership  in  the  Mormon  community. 
His  company,  though  more  exposed  than  most  of  the 


154.  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

others,  had  little  trouble.  Jedediah  M.  Grant,  a  com- 
parative newcomer  in  the  church,  was  in  command 
of  the  third  hundred.  He  had  attained  this  elevation 
rather  by  his  fiery  zeal  for  the  cause  than  through 
any  respect  for  his  judgment;  and  he  showed  at  once 
the  peculiar  capacity  to  attract  ill  fortune  that  fol- 
lowed him  through  his  short  life.  His  child  died  early 
on  the  journey;  his  wife  died  somewhat  later,  and  her 
body  was  carried  into  the  Salt  Lake  valley  for  burial; 
Indians  stole  twenty  or  more  of  his  company's  horses, 
and  a  number  of  their  oxen  died  on  the  Sweetwater, 
either  from  alkali  or  through  eating  the  "  loco " 
weed. 

There  was  another  cause  of  disturbance  in  camp. 
Parley  P.  Pratt,  an  Apostle  just  returned  from  a  suc- 
cessful mission  in  England,  was  supposed  to  exercise 
a  vague  overlordship  in  the  emigration.  Pratt 
promptly  got  into  disputes  with  the  actual  command- 
ers, his  advice  was  pretty  thoroughly  ignored,  and 
matters  were  proceeding  in  a  sort  of  armed  neutrality 
when  the  advance  party  met  Brigham  and  the  Apostles 
on  the  Big  Sandy,  September  3.  Brigham  heard  the 
story  of  the  march,  made  up  his  mind  on  the  matter, 
and  the  next  day  took  Pratt  in  hand,  and  reduced  him 
to  proper  submission  in  short  order.  There  is  a 
strong  probability  that  Brigham's  judgment  was  right 
and  his  reprimand  fully  deserved.  But  so  absolute 
was  his  authority,  so  iron  was  his  rule  that  not  even 
Pratt  has  recorded  the  other  side  of  the  case.  In  his 
autobiography  he  tells  us :  "I  was  severely  reproved 
and  chastened.  I  no  doubt  deserved  this  chastise- 
ment; and  I  humbled  myself;  acknowledged  my 
faults  and  errors  and  begged  for  forgiveness.  .  .  . 
This  school  of  experience  made  me  more  humble  and 


SIGNS  AND  MIRACLES  155 

careful  in  the  future,  and  I  think  it  was  the  means  of 
making  me  a  wiser  and  better  man  ever  after.'* 

There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  Pratt's  humbleness. 
As  to  his  improvement  in  wisdom  and  other  desirable 
qualities,  he  was  murdered  some  ten  years  later  as  a 
result  of  inducing  a  woman  to  elope  from  her  hus- 
band— by  whom  she  had  three^  children — and  to  be- 
come Mrs.  Pratt  No.  9. 

The  leading  company  of  the  first  emigration  reached 
the  pioneer  fort  late  in  September,  1847.  The  last 
company  trailed  in  early  the  following  month.  Octo- 
ber 16,  most  of  the  Mormon  battalion  which  had  been 
serving  in  California  arrived  in  camp.  Thirty-two 
of  these,  in  spite  of  the  late  season,  continued  their 
march  east  to  Winter  Quarters  to  join  their  wives 
and  children. 

Before  starting  their  return  trip,  Brigham  had  or- 
ganized a  "  stake  of  Zion  "  in  the  Salt  Lake  valley,  ap- 
pointing "  Father  John  Smith,"  uncle  of  the  murdered 
prophet,  as  president  of  the  stake.  At  a  conference 
held  October  3,  the  newcomers  "  sustained  "  this  se- 
lection of  the  now  absent  prince,  and  chose  Charles 
C.  Rich  and  John  Young  as  Father  John's  advisers. 
Of  civil  government,  there  was  as  yet  no  trace;  but 
the  ecclesiastical  organization,  for  which  Mormon- 
ism  is  now  justly  famous,  was  already  well  developed 
and  rigorously  applied. 

The  pioneers  had  planted  eighty-three  acres  to 
divers  kinds  of  fall  crops.  None  of  these  had  matured, 
though  the  potatoes  thus  raised  were  invaluable  for 
seed.  The  returning  battalion  members  from  Cali- 
fornia had  brought  with  them  considerable  quantities 
of  seed  grain,  and  the  first  emigration  now  proceeded 
to  break  ground  and  put  in  winter  crops.    Part  of  the 


156  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

time,  according  to  Pratt,  they  ploughed  and  seeded 
in  the  snow.  This  work  finished,  some  of  the  party 
made  exploring  trips.  Captain  Brown,  coming  back 
with  the  government  pay  for  members  of  his  battalion, 
bought  an  old  land  grant,  forty  miles  north  of  Salt 
Lake  City,  and  started  a  separate  colony  of  his  own. 
The  entire  party,  except  those  who  followed  Captain 
Brown  and  another  founder  of  outside  settlements, 
were  living  in  the  fort  which  had  been  started  by  the 
pioneers.  The  houses  now  extended  clear  around  the 
ten-acre  block,  and  connecting  stockades  had  been 
constructed.  A  census  the  next  spring  showed  one 
thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-one  persons  on  the 
site  of  the  fort,  and  four  hundred  and  twenty-three 
cabins  built. 

It  w^as  a  winter  of  much  hardship  and  more  dis- 
comfort. The  settlers  had  enough  provisions  to  keep 
them  through  the  season — and  they  had  little  more. 
Trade  had  been  opened  with  Fort  Hall;  but  the  Mor- 
mons were  too  poor  to  be  ready  purchasers  and  Fort 
Hall  prices  were  all  but  prohibitive.  Sugar  and  cof- 
fee retailed  at  a  dollar  per  pint;  calico  ran  from  fifty 
to  seventy-five  cents  per  yard.  Unable  to  pay  such 
prices,  the  Mormons  parched  barley  to  serve  as  cof- 
fee, and  made  their  bread  of  home-ground,  unbolted 
flour,  containing  all  the  bran  of  the  grain.  The 
health  fads  of  a  luxurious  generation  were  anticipated 
by  the  makeshifts  of  poverty. 

One  little  incident  of  the  winter  does  more  than 
pages  of  statistics  to  make  the  privations  of  these 
pioneers  seem  real.  Grown  people  might  be  content 
to  escape  starvation;  but  even  in  the  pioneer  camp  of 
the  Salt  Lake  valley,  children  retained  their  just  and 
proper  appetite  for  "goodies."     A  little  girl  of  eight 


SIGNS  AND  MIRACLES  167 

years  had  crossed  the  plains  with  her  parents  as  part  of 
the  first  emigration;  a  little  girl  who  could  recall  more 
prosperous  times,  and  who  mourned  for  the  tasty 
sweetmeats  that  were  gone.  Out  of  some  store  which 
mothers  always  retain  to  the  edge  of  utter  starvation, 
this  child's  mother  baked  her  a  "  sweet  cake  " — the 
very  name  being  significant  of  a  cookery  in  which 
cakes  were  not  always  sweet.  It  was  set  in  the  win- 
dow to  cool,  and  the  girl's  mouth  watered  as  she 
looked  at  it.  But  that  window  opened,  not  on  the 
sheltered  inner  corral,  but  on  the  plains  outside,  and 
a  thieving  Indian  annexed  the  precious  "  sweet  cake." 
The  Httle  girl  of  1848  is  well  passed  her  threescore 
years  and  ten;  but  the  loss  of  that  cake  remains  one 
of  the  tragedies  of  her  lifetime. 

By  spring,  grave  and  reverend  elders  were  going 
barefooted  to  the  fields  and  digging  thistle  roots  to 
eke  out  the  supply  of  provisions.  Men,  women,  and 
children  were  toiling  to  get  in  a  crop;  and  in  the 
houses,  warm  weather  had  brought  discomforts  from 
which  the  mild  winter  had  been  free.  Confident  in 
the  dryness  of  the  climate,  the  settlers  had  built  their 
houses  with  flat  roofs,  and  spring  rains  and  melting 
snows  came  through  in  torrents.  Indeed,  some  adobe 
houses  made  by  these  inexperienced  workmen  dis- 
solved in  the  short  season  of  wet  weather;  and  even 
in  the  best  cabins  many  a  woman  held  a  home-made 
umbrella  over  the  stove  as  she  cooked,  or  over  the  bed 
as  she  put  the  baby  to  sleep. 

Eight  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  of  grain  had 
been  planted,  partly  in  the  fall,  partly  in  early  spring; 
and  the  Saints  began  to  feel  that  their  chief  task  was 
to  endure  till  the  reaping,  when  another  trial  menaced 
them  with  utter  destruction.     Crickets  appeared  in 


158  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

countless  numbers,  eating  the  grain  fields  bare.  They 
advanced  like  a  devouring  army,  crossing  ditches 
filled  with  water,  stopping  for  no  obstacle  that  the 
pioneers  could  devise.  And  then,  just  when  utter 
despair  filled  their  hearts,  the  Lord  sent  another 
miracle  to  save  the  afflicted  worshippers.  Gulls  by 
thousands  came  up  from  the  great  lake,  and  fell 
upon  the  devouring  crickets.  They  gorged  themselves 
with  the  insects  till  their  stomachs  could  hold  no 
more;  then  vomited  the  half -digested  pests  and  re- 
turned for  a  fresh  meal.  To  this  day,  the  gull  is  a 
sacred  bird  in  Utah,  and  the  story  of  the  foiling  of 
the  crickets  is  one  of  the  most  precious  legends  of  the 
settling  of  Zion. 

Trouble  did  not  cease  with  the  coming  of  the  gulls, 
but  such  difficulties  as  followed  were  endurable. 
Grasshoppers  devoured  a  portion  of  the  crop,  and 
Mormon  inexperience  with  irrigation  kept  them  from 
reaping  as  full  a  harvest  from  the  rest  of  their  ground 
as  they  would  have  gained  a  dozen  years  later.  But 
on  August  lo,  1848,  the  people  kept  a  harvest  festival, 
and  made  merry  in  the  knowledge  that  they  bad 
wrung  a  year's  living  from  the  desert. 


XVII 
THE  CHURCH  POLITICAL 

BRIGHAM  was  chosen  president  of  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints,  Decem- 
ber 5,  1847.  Heber  C.  Kimball  and  Willard 
Richards  were  made  counsellors  to  the  president,  the 
three  constituting  the  old  First  Presidency,  which  had 
been  suspended  since  the  murder  of  Joseph.  Brig- 
ham's  election  was  made  by  the  Quorum  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles.  It  was  "  sustained "  by  the  con- 
gregation December  27.  The  formal  choice  merely 
ratified  a  fact  which  had  been  clear  to  every  one  for 
three  years — that  Brigham  Young  was  brain  and 
hand,  king,  pope,  business-manager  and  chief-of- 
police  to  the  entire  Mormon  organization.  Why  he 
should  have  valued  so  greatly  this  recognition  of  an 
established  fact  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  human 
nature;  but  he  wrote  to  a  friend  that  the  day  of  his 
elevation  to  the  seat  of  Joseph  was  the  happiest  day 
of  his  life. 

He  had  been  moving  towards  this  goal  for  fifteen 
years — ever  since  he  spoke  in  tongues  before  the 
prophet  at  their  first  meeting,  that  summer  day  in 
1832.  The  earlier  stages  of  his  advancement  were 
unconscious  and  unintentional;  he  rose  because  he  had 
qualities  that  could  not  be  kept  down.  Later — the 
exact  moment  must  have  been  hidden,  even  from  him- 
self— he  began  to  covet  power;  and  whatsoever  Brig- 
ham  coveted,  that  he  moved  to  obtain.     His  course 

159 


160  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

was  straightforward.  Sidney  Rigdon  might  scheme 
and  plot;  Joseph  might  vacillate  and  change;  but 
Brigham  went  on,  doing  the  work  that  lay  nearest  to 
his  hand,  and  trusting  some  one,  something — ^prophet. 
Providence,  or  lucky  star — to  bring  him  the  reward 
of  his  labours.  His  friendship  for  Joseph  was  loyal 
and  sincere.  His  reverence  for  Joseph — strange  as 
this  may  seem — never  failed,  and  perhaps  never  seri- 
ously diminished.  But  though  he  loved  and  revered 
his  chosen  prophet,  and  saved  him  again  and  again 
from  enemies  without  and  the  worse  enemy  of  folly 
within,  Brigham  never  allowed  reverence  to  become 
fulsome  adulation.  He  never  forfeited  his  self-re- 
spect, and  he  compelled  the  respect  of  his  prophet 
chief.  There  is  no  record,  we  may  remark  again, 
that  the  polygamous  fancies  of  Joseph  ever  turned 
toward  the  family  of  Brigham  Young. 

Brigham  had  ruled  the  church  more  than  three 
years  as  chief  of  the  Quorum  of  the  Twelve  Apostles. 
He  had  triumphed  over  Sidney  Rigdon,  nominally  on 
the  ground  that  the  Twelve  were  second  to  the  presi- 
dent alone,  and  that  the  president's  counsellors  were 
mere  advisers,  whose  rank  ended  with  the  death  of  the 
chief  who  appointed  them.  But  Brigham's  first  act 
on  being  made  head  of  the  church  was  to  elevate  and 
consolidate  the  First  Presidency,  and  by  consequence 
to  depress  the  Twelve.  He  chose  for  his  counsellors 
his  cousin,  Willard  Richards,  and  his  adulator,  Heber 
C.  Kimball.  Both  could  be  relied  on  for  absolute  de- 
votion to  the  interest  and  even  the  whims  of  their 
chief.  Their  appointment  to  this  position  was  reck- 
oned a  promotion  from  the  Twelve,  and  the  places 
thus  left  vacant  in  that  body  were  filled  by  men  whose 
influence  was  comparatively  small.    It  is  the  old  story 


THE  CHURCH  POLITICAL  161 

of  antagonism  between  the  king  and  the  crown  prince. 

If  Brigham's  new  title  had  any  effect  on  his  ener- 
gies, it  was  to  spur  him  to  greater  activity.  He  had 
cHmbed  to  the  top  of  the  church.  If  he  wished  to 
go  higher,  he  must  build  his  church  higher.  Two 
days  before  Christmas,  1847,  ^^^  five  days  before  the 
congregation  had  formally  ratified  his  new  dignity, 
Brigham  addressed  a  general  epistle  to  the  church. 
Like  his  lone  revelation,  this  epistle  bears  marks  of 
having  been  edited  by  church  scribes  after  the  main 
outlines  were  dictated  by  Brigham.  The  grandilo- 
quence which  was  a  national  vice  in  that  day,  and 
which  Joseph  Smith  had  in  ten  times  triple  measure, 
appears  to  some  slight  extent  in  the  language  of  this 
epistle — but  not  in  its  ideas.  Brigham  gives  an  ac- 
count of  his  trip  to  the  Salt  Lake  valley,  and  of  the 
further  emigration  which  followed  on  the  trail  broken 
by  his  pioneers.  He  describes  the  valley  in  terms 
which  at  least  do  no  injustice  to  its  merits.  He  urges 
all  Saints  to  come  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Winter  Quarters,  where  they  may  be 
outfitted  for  the  journey  across  the  plains  to  Salt 
Lake.  He  gives  a  list  of  things  which  the  Saints 
should  bring  with  them — stock,  trees,  vines,  grains, 
fruits,  tools,  and  weapons.  The  intention  to  found 
a  self-sufficing  little  empire  in  the  mountains  is  fairly 
apparent,  even  in  this  church  letter. 

All  that  winter,  Brigham  and  his  aids  laboured  to 
make  ready  for  the  grand  emigration  in  the  spring. 
In  May,  1848,  camp  was  formed  on  the  Elkhorn  as 
in  previous  movements.  The  leading  company,  under 
direct  command  of  Brigham,  moved  west  from  this 
rendezvous  June  5;  the  last  of  the  rearguard  started 
July  5.    All  told,  there  were  two  thousand  four  hun- 


162  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

dred  and  seventeen  persons  and  seven  hundred  and 
ninety-two  wagons  on  the  trail.  Rather  more  than 
half  the  total — one  thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  persons  and  three  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
wagons — were  in  the  leading  division  under  Brigham; 
six  hundred  and  sixty-two  persons  and  two  hundred 
and  twenty-six  wagons  came  in  the  middle  division 
under  Heber  Kimball;  and  five  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  persons  with  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  wagons 
formed  the  rearguard  under  Willard  Richards.  The 
animal  census  of  the  companies  under  Brigham  and 
Heber  Kimball  was  taken  by  some  of  their  clerks, 
and  reads  as  follows : 

"Oxen,  two  thousand  and  twelve;  cows,  nine  hun- 
dred and  eighty-three;  loose  cattle,  three  hundred  and 
thirty- four;  horses,  one  hundred  and  thirty-two; 
mules,  one  hundred  and  sixteen;  sheep,  six  hundred 
and  fifty- four;  pigs,  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven; 
chickens,  nine  hundred  and  four;  dogs,  one  hundred 
and  thirty-four;  cats,  fifty- four;  goats,  three;  geese, 
ten;  ducks,  eleven;  hives  of  bees,  five;  one  crow  and 
one  squirrel." 

The  cats  were  not  the  least  important  members  of 
the  migration,  as  the  settlers  had  been  troubled  with 
mice.  The  number  of  sheep  driven  across  the  plains 
shows  that  Brigham  meant  to  have  business  for  the 
carding-machine  stowed  so  carefully  in  one  of  his 
wagons. 

The  emigrating  Mormons  were  on  the  road  three 
and  one-half  months,  yet  only  four  of  their  number 
died.  This  is  truly  a  remarkable  record,  but  their 
trip  was  not  so  smooth  as  to  be  monotonous.  Rich- 
ards, in  particular,  fared  badly.  It  was  inevitable  that 
the  president  of  the  church  and  his  first  counsellor 


THE  CHURCH  POLITICAL  163 

should  attract  around  themselves  more  than  a  due 
proportion  of  the  stronger  and  more  successful  men 
of  the  community;  and  not  even  military  communism 
could  keep  equipment  equal  where  abilities  were 
diverse. 

Richards  had  to  yoke  every  milch  cow  and  nearly 
every  yearling  heifer  to  his  carts  before  the  end  of 
the  journey.  Some  of  his  families,  men,  women,  and 
children,  walked  all  the  way  from  the  Missouri  river 
to  the  Salt  Lake  valley.  On  the  Sweetwater — that 
misnamed  stream  of  ill  omen  for  the  Mormons — a 
number  of  Richards'  scanty  supply  of  cattle  were 
poisoned  and  messengers  had  to  be  sent  to  bring  back 
help  from  the  companies  ahead.  Yet  he  did  not  lose 
a  human  being  on  the  trip,  and  finished  with  all  his 
command  in  good  health.  It  is  an  eloquent  testimony 
to  the  enduring  qualities  of  the  human  frame  when 
put  to  a  test. 

Brigham  reached  Salt  Lake  City  with  part  of  his 
company  on  September  20,  1848,  the  other  companies 
following  in  the  order  and  at  about  the  rate  of  their 
departure.  There  were  now  nearly  five  thousand 
persons  in  the  valley,  and  the  first  thought  of  their 
practical  leader  was  how  this  considerable  colony 
would  manage  to  live  through  the  winter.  The  crop, 
though  saved  from  utter  destruction  by  the  gulls,  was 
still  a  partial  failure,  and  the  incoming  immigrants 
had  brought  but  a  fraction  of  the  supplies  needed  to 
sustain  them  until  another  harvest.  The  outlook  was 
not  encouraging;  but  Brigham  faced  it  cheerfully, 
and  made  careful  preparation  for  the  next  season. 
Grounds  in  the  city  were  distributed  to  the  new- 
comers by  lot.  A  field  of  eight  thousand  acres  was 
fenced,  divided  into  small  parcels  of  five,  ten,  and 


164  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

forty-acre  tracts,  and  apportioned  in  the  same  man- 
ner..  Work  was  begun  on  roads,  and  a  one  per  cent 
property  tax  was  levied  for  bridge  building.  Schools 
were  opened,  and  a  council  house  was  started.  But 
the  chief  care  of  every  one  was  first  to  get  in  a 
crop,  and  next  to  provide  some  sort  of  shelter  for  the 
coming  winter. 

That  winter  proved  a  time  of  trial  worse  than  any 
had  anticipated.  Expecting  a  repetition  of  the  mild 
season  a  year  before,  the  newcomers  had  failed  to 
provide  themselves  with  fuel  from  the  canons.  Many 
of  them  had  not  built  houses,  expecting  to  camp  the 
winter  through  in  their  prairie  schooners  or  covered 
wagons.  Instead  of  the  gentle  weather  they  expected, 
there  came  a  series  of  storms  which  piled  the  canons 
full  of  snow;  and  then  followed  a  season  of  bitter  cold 
that  pinched  the  half-fed  settlers  like  a  breath  from 
Siberia.  Stock  died  by  hundreds.  Food  supplies 
threatened  to  give  out.  On  February  8,  1849,  ^^  i"" 
ventory  was  taken,  which  showed  that  there  was  in 
the  valley  only  three-quarters  of  a  pound  of  bread- 
stuffs  per  capita  per  day  if  the  supply  were  to  last 
till  July  5.  It  was  believed  that  some  persons  had 
concealed  stores;  but  even  so,  the  condition  was  little 
short  of  desperate.  A  hunting  party  was  organized, 
but  it  brought  in  little  game.  Several  efforts  to  reach 
Fort  Bridger  were  baffled  by  the  snow-filled  canons. 
Some  of  the  poorer  families  were  stewing  hides  for 
food  before  the  snow  melted  and  all  were  digging 
roots  as  soon  as  the  spring  permitted.  The  iron  rule 
of  their  leader  was  all  that  saved  the  colony  from 
shipwreck. 

In  spite  of  the  gnawing  pinch  of  hunger,  Brigham's 
preparations  for  empire  went  steadily  forward.     A 


THE  CHURCH  POLITICAL  165 

printing-press  and  outfit  of  type  had  been  carried 
across  the  plains  in  this  latest  emigration.  In  most 
American  communities,  the  first  use  of  this  resource 
of  civilization  would  have  been  the  printing  of  a 
newspaper,  or  perhaps  a  prospectus  of  lands  or  mines. 
But  Brigham's  practical  mind  had  already  set  its  im- 
press on  the  exiled  Saints;  and  the  printing-press  in 
Utah  was  baptized  in  another  manner.  It  was  used 
for  the  printing  of  fifty-cent  and  dollar  bills,  to  pro- 
vide a  circulating  medium  in  the  almost  complete 
absence  of  ''  United  States  money."  At  the  time,  this 
was  a  just  and  proper  proceeding,  though  perhaps  a 
bit  unconventional.  But  the  historian,  taking  his 
place  with  the  exiled  Mormons,  and  looking  down  the 
years  to  the  present,  when  the  head  of  the  church  is 
likewise  president  of  nearly  a  dozen  commercial  cor- 
porations, will  find  something  prophetic  in  this  initial 
use  of  a  printing-press. 

The  paper  "  shin-plasters "  issued  in  this  manner 
were  countersigned  by  Brigham  as  president  of  the 
church,  and  by  Heber  C.  Kimball  as  "  councillor.'' 
A  little  later,  the  settlers  issued  gold  coins,  made  from 
the  dust  brought  east  from  the  new  California  mines 
by  returning  members  of  the  Mormon  battalion. 
Brigham  doubtless  usurped  authority  in  this  action; 
but  it  was  usurpation,  not  robbery.  He  had  too  much 
sense  to  repeat  the  follies  of  the  "  Kirtland  Anti- 
banking  Society."  The  paper  money  was  in  reality 
little  more  than  a  sort  of  negotiable  order  on  the  tith- 
ing house;  and  the  coins  struck  were  later  turned 
into  the  United  States  mints  as  bullion.  They  were 
made  of  pure  gold,  mostly  in  $2  and  $5  denomina- 
tions.    There  is  no  record  of  any  loss  to  any  one 


166  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

by  reason  of  Brigham's  unauthorized  assumption  of 
the  right  to  coin  money. 

The  issuance  of  money,  however,  was  but  one  step 
in  Brigham's  governmental  organization.  That  or- 
ganization at  first  was  of  a  purely  ecclesiastical  char- 
acter. Salt  Lake  City  was  divided  into  nineteen 
wards,  with  a  bishop  appointed  over  each.  In  reality, 
the  wards  were  little  municipalities,  united  by  the 
supreme  authority  of  the  church  head.  Later  in  the 
spring,  the  political  organization  was  begun. 


XVIII 
MANNA  FROM  THE  GOLD-SEEKERS 

WHEN  Brigham  turned  the  faces  of  his  per- 
secuted Saints  from  Nauvoo  towards  the 
western  mountains,  he  did  so  in  the  hope 
of  getting  beyond  the  reach  of  Gentile  power  to  a 
land  where  the  church-state  of  Mormonism  could 
grow  and  thrive  in  peace.  In  the  same  hope,  at  the 
same  time,  a  band  of  Mormons  from  the  eastern  states 
took  passage  for  CaHfornia  by  sea.  These  last  arrived 
after  a  weary  voyage,  to  find  that  the  republic  they 
had  fled  from  had  outpaced  their  laggard  colony.  The 
Mexican  war  had  begun,  and  so  far  as  California  was 
concerned,  had  ended;  and  Commodore  Stockton  was 
master  of  the  Golden  Gate.  It  is  told  that  one  of  the 
elders  of  the  Mormon  colony  gave  a  despairing  look 
at  the  Stars  and  Stripes  fluttering  from  Telegraph 
Hill,  and  exclaimed  in  heartfelt  affliction: 

"  There's  that  damned  flag  again !  '* 

True  or  not,  this  tale  sets  forth  the  Mormon  view- 
point better  than  many  a  learned  thesis.  The  Saints 
had  learned  by  bitter  experience  that  to  develop  the 
theocracy  they  so  greatly  prized,  they  must  get  be- 
yond the  reach  of  their  Gentile  countrymen.  But  by 
the  time  this  lesson  was  learned,  its  application  was 
impossible.  Brigham  did  not  find  ''that  damned 
flag "  physically  present  when  he  entered  the  Salt 
Lake  valley,  but  in  essentials  it  was  there.  Even 
while  he  was  toiling  through  the  mud  of  Iowa  and  the 

167 


168  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

sands  of  the  Platte,  Taylor  and  Wool  and  Scott  were 
drawing  a  new  boundary  line  so  distant  that  Mormon 
resources  were  unequal  to  crossing  it.  The  nation 
had  grown  faster  than  the  church  could  emigrate. 

This  fact  and  its  implications  must  be  kept  in  mind 
when  measuring  the  character  and  achievements  of 
Brigham  Young.  Seldom  has  an  ecclesiastical  leader 
played  against  more  consistent  ill  fortune  than  he. 
The  Fates  seemed  conspiring  to  keep  the  word  of 
promise  to  his  ear  and  break  it  to  his  hope.  A  thou- 
sand circumstances  combined  to  make  easy  the  gain- 
ing of  converts  to  a  creed  like  Mormonism — ^but  the 
stars  in  their  courses  forbade  the  effort  to  weld  these 
converts  into  an  independent  theocratic  state. 

Looking  back  from  this  vantage  point  of  time,  one 
sees  that  nothing  but  a  succession  of  miracles  could 
have  realized  the  dreams  of  Joseph  and  Brigham. 
Had  the  church  leaders  in  1830  been  as  clear-sighted 
as  Brigham  became  fifteen  years  later;  had  they  pos- 
sessed wide  knowledge  and  vast  financial  means — two 
things  which  no  founder  of  a  new  faith  ever  did  pos- 
sess— they  might  have  taken  the  infant  church  forth- 
with to  the  fertile  and  practically  vacant  valleys  of 
California.  With  an  unbroken  run  of  luck  for  the 
next  sixteen  years,  they  might  have  been  able  to  break 
away  from  Mexico  without  falling  into  the  lap  of  the 
United  States.  Then,  if  no  one  had  discovered  gold 
in  the  Sacramento  valley,  if  the  Civil  war  had  ended 
in  victory  for  the  Confederacy,  if  a  series  of  compli- 
cations had  kept  the  power  and  ambition  of  the  United 
States  on  the  Pacific  coast  nicely  balanced  by  that  of 
England,  the  successors  of  Joseph  Smith  might  now 
be  rulers  of  an  independent  nation  in  California. 

Not  one  of  these  essentials  to  the  success  of  a  church- 


MANNA  FROM  THE  GOLD-SEEKERS     169 

empire  has  been  present.  Yet,  to-day,  the  successor 
of  Joseph — and  of  Brigham — is  in  most  things  an 
independent  and  despotic  sovereign,  a  sovereign  whose 
power  is  growing  year  by  year.  He  levies  and  col- 
lects taxes.  He  issues  and  enforces  decrees  which 
have  all  the  effect  of  laws.  He  exercises  a  profound 
influence  on  the  government  within  the  limits  of 
whose  authority  he  resides,  and  he  believes  with  a 
deep  and  moving  faith  that  his  spiritual  or  physical 
descendants  are  destined  to  overthrow  that  govern- 
ment and  break  it  in  pieces.  That  so  large  a  measure 
of  church  monarchy  lives  and  grows  in  defiance  of 
historical  probability  is  the  work  of  Brigham  Young. 

He  said  on  entering  the  valley:  "  Now  if  the  Gen- 
tiles will  let  us  alone  for  ten  years,  I'll  ask  no  odds 
of  them."  He  needed  thirty  years,  rather  than  ten; 
but  it  soon  became  clear  that  he  was  not  to  have  even 
the  shorter  period  of  grace.  The  treaty  of  Guadeloupe 
Hidalgo  told  him  that,  little  as  they  liked  it,  the  Mor- 
mons henceforth  must  deal  with  the  United  States, 
rather  than  with  Mexico.  This  necessitated  a  sharp 
change  of  plan.  Mexico  could  be  ignored  or  defied 
at  this  distance  from  the  seat  of  her  power;  but  the 
United  States  must  be  "  managed."  In  the  spring  of 
1849,  Brigham  took  the  first  direct  step  toward  this 
management.  A  convention  was  called  to  form  a 
constitution  for  a  new  state,  which  would  ask  admis- 
sion to  the  Union. 

That  Brigham  waited  so  long  before  making  any 
move  to  organize  a  civil  government  shows  how  re- 
luctant he  was  to  abandon  his  hope  of  independence. 
The  treaty  of  Guadeloupe  Hidalgo  was  signed  Febru- 
ary 2,  1848.  The  Salt  Lake  "  convention  "  met  thir- 
teen months  later,  March  4,  1849.     ^^s  deliberations 


17a  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

lasted  about  a  week.  It  drew  up  a  constitution  of 
the  usual  stock  pattern  which  Americans  carried  in 
their  heads  for  a  hundred  years,  till  the  attempt  to 
engraft  a  Prussian  bureaucracy  on  our  historic  gov- 
ernment made  it  necessary  to  expand  the  fundamental 
law  of  a  state  to  the  dimensions  of  an  eighteenth  cen- 
tury novel.  There  was  the  usual  triple  division  of 
governmental  powers,  the  usual  double-barrelled  legis- 
lature, the  usual  bill  of  rights;  though  this  last  was 
rather  more  emphatic  than  common  in  insisting  on 
religious  liberty.  Nearly  all  the  Mormons  were  from 
the  northern  states  or  from  Europe ;  but  they  restricted 
suffrage  and  office-holding  to  "  free  white  male  in- 
habitants." The  name  chosen  for  the  new  common- 
wealth was  "  Deseret  ";  a  w^ord  derived  from  the  Book 
of  Mormon.  The  average  Gentile,  hearing  or  seeing 
this  word  for  the  first  time,  usually  supposes  that  it 
bears  some  reference  to  **  desert " ;  but  the  orthodox 
meaning  of  the  term  is  a  honey-bee. 

The  constitution  was  presented  to  the  people,  and 
adopted  unanimously.  It  would  have  received  the 
same  support  had  it  been  written  in  Chinese;  all  the 
Mormons  needed  to  know  was  that  Brigham  Young 
favoured  the  document.  Next  in  order  was  the  elec- 
tion of  officers.  This  took  place  March  12,  and  six 
hundred  and  seventy-four  votes  were  polled — rather 
a  small  number  for  a  community  that  aspired  to  call 
itself  a  state.  Brigham  was  the  choice  for  governor, 
and  rightly;  the  existence  of  the  colony  depended  on 
him.  The  organization  of  the  "  supreme  court  "  was 
less  consistent.  John  Taylor,  one  of  the  "  associate 
justices,"  was  not  yet  a  citizen  of  the  United  States; 
and  in  any  community  with  a  sense  of  humour,  the 
nomination  of  Heber  C.  Kimball  for  a  legal  position 


MANNA  FROM  THE  GOLD-SEEKERS     171 

would  have  been  treated  as  a  joke.  Heber  was  a 
capable  fellow  in  many  ways;  but  he  knew  as  much  of 
law  as  he  did  of  Sanscrit,  and  cared  rather  less  than 
he  knew.  His  sole  qualification — an  all-sufficient 
one,  however — was  his  unquestioning,  unreckoning, 
idolatrous  devotion  to  Brigham  Young. 

The  "  legislature  "of  Deseret  was  elected  later  in 
the  season,  and  its  only  action  that  year  was  to  send 
a  delegate  to  Washington,  asking  for  the  admission 
of  Deseret  as  a  state,  with  an  alternative  request  for 
formal  organization  as  a  territory.  Thus  began  the 
long-drawn  effort  of  the  Mormon  church  to  gain  ad- 
mission to  the  Union  in  order  to  escape  the  Union's 
authority.  How  that  application  was  received  will  be 
told  in  detail  later,  but  its  general  fate  is  known  to 
the  reader  in  advance.  For  forty-six  years  the 
church-kingdom  was  kept  cooling  its  heels  in  the 
territorial  anteroom  of  the  nation.  It  was  admitted 
at  last  only  after  the  church  authorities  had  set  their 
hands  to  a  solemn  agreement — which  many  of  them 
broke  the  moment  they  had  received  the  boon  of  state- 
hood, and  which  the  church  as  a  church  has  been 
breaking  ever  since. 

This,  however,  was  on  the  knees  of  the  gods;  and 
for  the  time,  Brigham  was  content  to  leave  it  there. 
He  had  plenty  to  occupy  his  mind  without  borrowing 
trouble  as  to  the  fate  of  the  petition  for  statehood. 
All  through  the  spring  and  summer,  until  harvest  be- 
gan, the  entire  colony  was  on  rations,  and  very  short 
rations  they  were.  In  some  families  there  was  an 
allowance  of  four  ounces  of  bread  per  capita  per  day. 
Others,  who  were  considered  opulent,  counted  on  a 
half-pound  each;  but  it  is  doubtful  if  this  latter  pro- 
vision was  realized  by  any  one.     A  little  game  was 


172  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

killed,  roots  were  dug  as  before,  and  the  rich  grasses 
of  a  Utah  spring  fattened  cattle  so  that  beef  was 
fairly  abundant,  but  practically  all  the  grain  in  the 
valley  had  to  be  reserved  for  planting.  In  the  spring 
of  1849,  corn  was  quoted  at  $2  and  $3  per  bushel, 
wheat  at  $4  to  $5,  and  potatoes  were  rated  as  high 
as  $20  per  bushel.  Such  figures  do  not  express  the 
true  scarcity,  for  none  of  these  supplies  were  on  the 
market.  But  the  first  load  of  new  barley  hauled  into 
the  city  from  the  harvest  of  1849  ^^^^  ^^^  $2  P^^ 
bushel;  and  this  at  a  time  when  the  purchasing  power 
of  money  was  far  greater  than  to-day. 

Had  there  been  only  a  local  market  for  their  grain, 
prices  would  have  dropped  to  a  low  level  immediately 
after  the  harvest;  for  the  crop  of  1849  was  an  excel- 
lent one.  In  point  of  fact,  prices  rose.  The  gold 
rush  to  California,  the  most  picturesque  and  unique 
migration  in  history,  was  already  streaming  through 
the  secluded  valley  of  the  Saints. 

On  January  24,  1848,  Thomas  Marshall  found  in 
the  newly  dug  tail-race  of  Sutter's  mill  in  the  Sacra- 
mento valley  some  yellow  particles  which  proved  to 
be  gold.  For  a  time,  an  effort  was  made  to  keep  the 
discovery  secret,  but  the  very  birds  of  the  air  seemed 
to  carry  the  news.  They  carried  it  to  a  gold-hungry 
world;  and  from  nearly  every  part  of  the  world, 
from  Europe,  from  China,  and  the  islands  of  the  sea, 
and  most  of  all  from  the  restless  hive  of  the  United 
States,  the  human  current  began  flowing  to  the  new 
El  Dorado. 

Perhaps  the  nearest  parallel  to  this  California  emi- 
gration is  the  one  movement  with  which  it  has  never 
been  compared — the  epidemic  of  pilgrimage  to  Jeru- 
salem which  led  to  the  first  Crusade.     In  each  case, 


MANNA  FROM  THE  GOLD-SEEKERS     173 

an  age  responded  to  the  call  of  its  master  passion  by 
hurling  itself  bodily  toward  the  land  where  that  pas- 
sion might  be  gratified.  Each  rush  was  prodigal  of 
heroism,  of  endurance,  of  meanness,  of  suffering,  of 
triumph  and  despair.  Each  was  the  first  and  truly 
the  last  of  its  kind;  each  had  forerunners,  but  no 
models;  echoes  but  no  successors.  Certainly  there  is 
little  likeness  between  the  "  days  of  forty-nine,"  and 
the  adventures  of  Pizarro  and  Cortez.  The  Spaniards 
found  gold  and  silver  in  Mexico  and  Peru.  But  these 
precious  metals  were  in  pagan  hands,  and  could  be 
applied  to  Christian  uses  only  after  a  season  of  strife 
with  their  original  but  unhallowed  owners.  In  Cali- 
fornia, nature  left  her  treasure  house  unlocked,  and 
the  world  raced  headlong  to  share  in  the  spoil.  The 
gold-diggers  of  California  were  the  first  men  of  Eng- 
lish speech  under  whose  laws  the  ownership  of  land 
depended  on  its  use.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
Brigham  had  taken  the  same  position  in  his  first  ser- 
mon in  the  Salt  Lake  valley. 

The  rush  for  gold  in  the  nineteenth  century — like 
the  race  for  salvation  in  the  eleventh — touched  all 
classes  and  upset  all  plans.  Farmers,  sailors,  me- 
chanics, lawyers,  doctors,  clergymen,  scholars — all 
were  present  in  the  parties  which  hurried  toward  the 
sunset,  fearful  lest  the  half-mythical  metal  of  which 
they  heard  should  be  gone  before  they  arrived.  Some 
rushed  to  the  nearest  port  and  engaged  passage  by 
sea;  others  turned  their  possessions  into  horses  or 
oxen  and  wagons,  and  started  overland.  These  had 
to  pass  through  the  valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake. 

Mormon  writers  always  have  assumed  some  mys- 
terious merit  in  the  fact  that  some  members  of  their 
battalion  were  working  at  Sutter's  mill  when  the  gold 


174  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

discovery  was  made.  They  had  as  much  to  do  with 
that  event  as  with  the  discovery  of  the  planet  Neptune; 
but  their  presence  had  large  consequences  for  their 
distant  brethren.  Being  first  on  the  ground,  they  had 
abundant  choice  of  locations,  and  some  of  them 
washed  out  considerable  quantities  of  gold-dust.  Then 
they  set  the  excited  settlement  an  example  it  could 
little  appreciate  by  turning  their  backs  on  the  *'  dig- 
gings," and  joining  their  families  and  co-religionists 
in  the  Salt  Lake  valley;  of  course  carrying  their  new- 
found riches  with  them.  The  first  trickle  of  gold- 
seekers  passed  through  the  valley  in  June,  1849;  ^^^ 
found  only  a  half -starved  population  keeping  jealous 
watch  on  their  fields  and  herds.  By  the  middle  of 
July  the  trickle  had  become  a  considerable  current, 
and  the  Mormons  were  threshing  and  grinding  their 
new  grain,  and  selling  it  to  the  emigrants  at  famine 
prices.  By  August,  the  emigration  was  in  full  tide. 
The  Argonauts,  arriving  in  the  valley  with  jaded 
teams  and  impatient  hearts,  saw  the  gold  brought 
back  by  returning  members  of  the  Mormon  battalion 
— and  the  second  and  more  valuable  harvest  of  the 
Mormons  for  that  year  was  on. 

A  Salt  Lake  letter  to  the  Frontier  Guardian  tells 
a  part  of  the  story : 

"  When  they  saw  the  bags  and  kegs  of  gold-dust 
brought  in  by  our  boys,  it  made  them  completely  enthusi- 
astic. Pack  mules  and  horses  that  were  worth  $25  in  or- 
dinary times  would  readily  bring  $200  in  the  most  valuable 
property  at  the  lowest  price.  Goods  and  other  property 
were  daily  offered  at  auction  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  For 
a  light  Yankee  wagon,  sometimes  three  or  four  great 
heavy  ones  would  be  offered  in  exchange,  and  a  yoke  of 


MANNA  FROM  THE  GOLD-SEEKERS     175 

oxen  thrown  in  at  that.  Common  domestic  sheeting  sold 
from  five  to  ten  cents  per  yard  by  the  bolt.  The  best  of 
spades  and  shovels  for  fifty  cents  each.  Vests  that  cost  in 
St.  Louis  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  each  were  sold  at 
Salt  Lake  for  thirty-seven  and  one-half  cents.  Full  chests 
of  joiners'  tools  that  would  cost  $150  in  the  east  were  sold 
at  Salt  Lake  for  $25.  Indeed,  almost  every  article,  ex- 
cept sugar  and  coffee,  were  selling  on  an  average  fifty 
per  cent  below  wholesale  prices  in  the  eastern  states." 

Many  of  the  articles  mentioned  in  this  list  are  not 
such  as  emigrants  commonly  carry.  But  the  first 
gold  rush  for  California  was  more  than  an  ordinary 
emigration.  Hundreds  of  comparatively  wealthy  men 
joined  in  the  movement,  buying  full  stocks  of  mer- 
chandise which  they  thought  would  be  in  demand  in 
the  new  land,  and  starting  to  carry  these  cargoes 
across  the  plains.  By  the  time  they  reached  Salt  Lake, 
word  came  that  "  state's  goods "  were  arriving  in 
California  by  sea;  and  the  disappointed  speculators 
sacrificed  their  stock  on  the  spot.  Besides,  only  the 
trail  can  teach  men  how  little  they  really  need.  Many 
things  that  seemed  necessities  at  the  start,  even  to 
that  simple  generation,  had  become  burdensome  im- 
pedimenta long  before  they  reached  the  settlement  of 
the  Saints. 

The  deluge  of  cheap  mercantile  stocks  was  of  short 
duration;  but  for  the  rest,  the  harvest  from  the  emi- 
grants continued  for  full  three  years.  It  reached  its 
height  in  1850.  Before  grain  was  cut  that  year,  flour 
was  selling  at  a  dollar  a  pound  in  Salt  Lake  City; 
and  after  the  harvest  it  still  held  at  $25  per  hundred 
pounds.  Fresh  horses  and  oxen,  though  of  inferior 
weight  and  breed,  could  be  traded  to  the  hurrying 


176  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

emigrants  for  three  or  four  times  their  number  of 
better  but  tired  cattle  that  had  made  the  journey 
across  the  plains.  It  became  a  regular  practice  in 
the  valley  to  buy  or  trade  for  this  jaded  stock  one 
year,  and  sell  it  back,  at  four  or  five  times  the  price, 
to  the  next  year's  band  of  gold-seekers.  As  in  all 
lands  much  frequented  by  tourists  and  travellers,  there 
were  two  prices  at  Salt  Lake,  one  for  natives  and  one 
for  strangers.  Brigham  countenanced  this,  and  in- 
deed helped  it  along  by  forbidding  the  emigrants  to 
take  unground  wheat  from  the  valley;  but  at  the 
same  time,  he  insisted  that  men,  even  Gentiles,  must 
not  be  turned  away  hungry  from  the  doors  of  the 
Saints.  Besides,  these  prices  did  not  apply  to  all 
things.  For  some  unexplained  reason,  beef  remained 
cheap  through  the  whole  period  of  overland  emigra- 
tion; and  Mormon  households  took  Gentile  boarders 
at  reasonable  rates  when  the  ostensible  price  of  flour 
was  twenty-five  cents  per  pound. 

Brigham  had  too  keen  a  commercial  instinct  not  to 
appreciate  the  advantages  which  this  gold  rush  had 
brought  to  his  people ;  but  he  was  wise  enough  by  this 
time  to  know  that  the  Fates  are  apt  to  wrap  a  serpent 
in  their  gifts.  His  people  were  getting  supplies  which 
they  sadly  needed,  and  were  disposing  of  their  surplus 
grain  at  undreamed-of  profits,  but  the  account  was  not 
all  on  one  side  of  the  ledger.  They  were  selling  so 
short  that  the  threat  of  famine  was  never  far  from  the 
settlement.  The  isolation  for  which  he  had  hoped 
was  gone;  and  for  the  moment,  at  least,  his  colony 
was  on  one  of  the  world's  highways.  Then,  too,  the 
Saints  had  begun  to  get  the  gold-fever.  Men  set  up 
fences  of  colour  and  caste  and  creed;  but  infections, 
whether  mental  or  physical,  leap  all  barriers;  and  the 


MANNA  FROM  THE  GOLD-SEEKERS     177 

Mormons  of  Salt  Lake  remembered  how  Brannan  had 
urged  them  to  come  on  to  California.  Why  not  go 
now,  they  asked,  and  claim  our  share  of  the  gold 
before  the  greedy  Gentile  world  gathers  it  all? 

With  any  other  community — or  under  any  other 
leader  which  this  community  ever  had — the  suction 
of  the  gold-fields  would  have  been  irresistible.  But 
Brigham  knew  what  he  wanted,  and  he  had  his  people 
well  in  hand.  He  set  his  face  like  flint  against  the 
gold-craze.  "  I  hope  the  gold-mines  will  be  no  nearer 
than  eight  hundred  miles !  "  he  declared  in  one  of  the 
scolding  sermons  which  Gentile  historians  have  never 
been  able  to  understand,  but  which  did  more  than  all 
fabled  *'  Danite  bands "  to  keep  the  people  in  line. 
"  There  is  more  delusion,  and  the  people  are  more 
perfectly  crazy  on  this  continent  than  ever  before. 
If  you  elders  of  Israel  want  to  go  to  the  gold-mines, 
go  and  be  damned.  ...  I  would  not  give  a  picayune 
to  keep  you  from  damnation.  ...  If  the  people  were 
united,  I  would  send  men  to  get  the  gold  who  would 
care  no  more  about  it  than  the  dust  under  their  feet, 
and  then  we  would  gather  millions  into  the  church. '* 

"  When  the  musing  spider  steps  on  a  red-hot 
shovel,"  wrote  Mark  Twain,  "  he  first  exhibits  a  wild 
surprise:  then  he  shrivels."  Passing  Mark's  error  as 
to  the  sex  of  the  average  spider,  the  description  may 
be  applied  to  the  Mormons  whose  desire  for  the  gold- 
fields  brought  them  against  the  iron  purpose  and  blis- 
tering tongue  of  Brigham.  A  few  of  the  more  ven- 
turesome persisted  in  going,  and  most  of  these  were 
cut  off  from  the  church.  But  practically  the  entire 
population  of  the  valley  remained.  Nearest  of  all 
settlements  to  the  enchanted  land,  they  contributed 
least  to  the  gold  rush. 


178  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

But  while  holding  back  the  Saints  from  an  indis- 
criminate rush  to  the  gold-fields,  Brigham  did  some- 
thing which — more  than  almost  any  other  event  in 
the  history  of  Mormonism — shows  the  mastery  of  this 
man  over  his  people,  and  the  implicit,  unquestioning 
obedience  on  which  he  could  rely  in  any  emergency. 
A  group  of  young  men  were  selected  by  Brigham  and 
his  apostles  to  go  to  California,  and  dig  gold  for  the 
church.  They  went;  and  what  is  much  more  remark- 
able, they  returned.  Some  of  them  were  highly  suc- 
cessful. They  washed  gold,  not  for  themselves,  but 
for  Zion;  they  sent  back  to  Utah  all  their  "dust" 
beyond  the  cost  of  a  frugal  subsistence;  and  they 
came  back  themselves  at  the  call  of  their  church- 
emperor.  There  are  few  more  noteworthy  things  in 
modern  religious  history  than  the  spectacle  of  these 
young  men  toiling  in  the  placer  mines,  not  for  their 
own  advancement,  but  that  their  church  might  have 
means  with  which  to  upbuild  her  glory. 


XIX 

THE  WAY  OF  A  SULTAN 

BRIGHAM  was  now  established  as  ruler  of  a 
compact  little  principality.  He  believed  his 
realm  capable  of  almost  indefinite  expansion; 
he  had  proved  its  ability  to  support  his  colony,  and 
leave  a  substantial  surplus  for  export.  The  crop  of 
1849  S^^^  ^^^  ^^^  h^s  people  their  first  glimpse  of 
the  possibilities  of  irrigated  farming;  and  Brigham 
was  not  slow  to  grasp  the  political  significance  of  this 
economic  fact.  Trade  with  gold-seekers  was  a  pass- 
ing incident,  and  not  an  essential  part  of  his  pro- 
gramme. He  was  glad  to  get  needed  supplies  for  his 
people,  sorry  that  contact  with  Gentiles  had  become 
unavoidable,  hopeful  that  the  rush  across  the  plains 
would  cease  and  leave  Zion  to  herself.  But  neither 
the  profits  nor  the  dangers  of  overland  traflfic  made 
much  change  in  the  basic  features  of  his  plan. 

He  had  two  purposes  in  life;  two  purposes  so  fused 
together  that  his  unanalytic  mind  doubtless  thought 
them  one.  He  would  build  the  Mormon  colony  into 
a  strong,  self-supporting,  self -sufficing  church-state; 
and  he  would  keep  that  state  absolutely  subject  to  his 
rule.  In  pursuit  of  the  first  purpose,  he  laboured  to 
encourage  immigration,  to  spread  settlements  that 
would  preempt  the  whole  Rocky  Mountain  region  for 
the  church's  own,  to  direct  and  diversify  industry. 
In  furtherance  of  the  second  and  no  less  vital  aim, 
he  kept  every  thread  of  community  affairs  in  his  own 

179 


180  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

hands,  formed  what  was  substantially  a  church  aristoc- 
racy, whose  fortunes  were  linked  with  his  own,  and  per- 
fected the  most  inescapable  system  of  discipline  and 
espionage  ever  applied  to  the  entire  body  of  either 
church  or  state  in  modern  times. 

At  the  conference  held  in  October,  1849,  several 
important  measures  were  taken  to  hasten  immigration. 
Foremost  of  these  was  the  beginning  of  the  "  Per- 
petual Immigration  Fund/'  Five  thousand  dollars 
were  raised  to  make  a  start  in  this  work.  The  money 
was  used  to  assist  in  the  immigration  of  poor  but  de- 
sirable converts,  particularly  from  the  British  Isles. 
It  was  not  given  them,  but  loaned;  and  they  were  re- 
quired to  pay  back  the  loan  either  in  cash  or  by  labour 
at  the  earliest  opportunity.  This,  to  be  sure,  put  the 
immigrant  to  some  extent  in  the  power  of  the  church 
which  had  advanced  his  passage-money;  and  there 
were  cases  in  which  this  power  was  used  in  a  need- 
lessly harsh  manner.  But  broadly  speaking,  the  as- 
sisted immigration  of  the  Mormon  church  was  at  that 
period  as  free  from  abuses  of  this  particular  kind  as 
any  similar  movement  ever  devised. 

Besides  raising  money  for  immigration,  there  was 
a  new  outburst  of  missionary  activity.  Proselyting 
had  not  been  neglected,  even  during  the  darkest  hour 
of  the  church;  and  the  troubles  of  the  peripatetic  Zion 
did  not  seem  to  discourage  converts.  In  1849,  it  was 
estimated  that  there  were  30,000  Mormons  in  Britain 
alone.  But  Mormon  missionaries  were  required  to 
be  colonization  agents  as  well  as  evangelists,  and  this 
part  of  the  work  had  lagged.  Nine  dignitaries  of  the 
church  were  despatched  by  this  October  conference  of 
1849,  to  labour  in  the  Lord's  vineyard  in  Britain; 
three  went  to  France,  two  to  Italy,  two  to  Denmark, 


THE  WAY  OF  A  SULTAN  181 

and  one  to  Sweden.  Brigham's  partiality  for  the 
British  mission  never  showed  more  strongly  than  in 
thus  assigning  more  missionaries  to  England  than  to 
the  entire  continent;  but  he  would  have  been  justified 
in  still  greater  concentration  of  effort. 

While  making  preparations  to  gather  the  faithful 
into  the  fold,  Brigham  was  equally  concerned  that  the 
fold  should  be  ready  to  receive  them.  It  was  his  in- 
tention to  "  stake  out ''  every  desirable  location  in  the 
inter-mountain  country,  to  get  it  in  possession  and 
under  control  of  the  Saints  before  intruding  Gentiles 
should  come  to  disturb  the  chosen  of  the  Lord.  In 
the  spring  of  1849,  while  crops  were  still  uncertain 
and  the  colonists  were  on  short  rations,  a  settlement 
had  been  made  at  Provo.  In  November,  1849,  after 
the  conference  referred  to,  the  Sanpete  and  Tooele 
valleys  were  settled.  Ogden  was  founded  the  next  sum- 
mer, and  soon  stakes  were  planted  in  every  desirable 
valley  of  Utah.  In  the  winter  of  1849-50,  Parley 
P.  Pratt  was  sent  with  an  exploring  party  to  spy  out 
the  land  toward  the  south;  and  in  the  course  of  his 
march,  he  passed  through  the  valley  of  Mountain 
Meadows.  John  D.  Lee  or  even  Bishop  Klingen- 
smith  would  have  been  a  more  appropriate  discoverer 
of  this  site,  in  view  of  what  happened  there  some  years 
later.  But  Fate  writes  her  dramas  in  her  own  dis- 
cursive fashion,  and  seldom  tries  to  stage  all  the  char- 
acters in  the  first  scene. 

The  manner  in  which  these  settlements  were  made 
shows  the  controlled,  directed  life  of  the  Mormon 
community.  Utah  was  peopled  by  a  planned  coloniza- 
tion like  that  of  early  French  Canada,  rather  than  by 
haphazard  overflow  like  that  which  settled  the  rest 
of  the  United  States.    No  solitary  dreamer  followed 


182  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

a  whisper  of  a  fairer  valley  further  on;  no  restless 
pioneer  pushed  out  from  the  settlements  to  venture 
lone-handed  into  the  wilds.  In  two  or  three  cases  a 
prominent  man  of  the  church  led  his  feudal  retainers 
on  a  colonizing  expedition;  but  that  was  the  nearest 
approach  to  individualism.  When  a  new  settlement 
was  desired,  Brigham  would  proclaim  that  fact,  and 
call  for  volunteers.  If  volunteers  were  slow  in  com- 
ing forward,  a  scolding  sermon  or  perhaps  a  more 
personal  word  of  authority  would  hasten  the  move- 
ment. If  men  offered  for  distant  settlements  who 
were  not  wanted,  they  were  told  to  stay  at  home — 
and  they  stayed.  Brigham  prescribed  the  numbers 
and  equipment  of  each  new  colony,  saw  that  the  re- 
quired trades  were  represented  among  "  volunteers," 
and  gave  detailed  instructions  to  the  head  of  each  ex- 
pedition concerning  location,  colony  government,  in- 
tercourse with  Indians,  and  even  about  crops. 

In  the  matter  of  Indian  management,  Brigham 
scored  a  decided  success.  The  red  men  of  Utah  were 
not  so  warlike  as  those  who  occupied  the  Atlantic 
coast  and  the  Mississippi  valley  at  the  coming  of  the 
white  man.  But  the  nature  of  the  country,  its  wide 
deserts  and  narrow  oases,  made  it  difficult  for  the 
Indians  to  retreat  before  advancing  settlements,  and 
tended  to  bring  matters  to  a  sharp  issue  while  the 
whites  were  still  few  in  numbers.  Brigham  met  this 
difficulty  in  direct,  practical  fashion.  His  standing 
motto,  adopted  early  and  retained  to  the  end  of  his 
life,  was  that  it  is  cheaper  to  feed  Indians  than  to 
fight  them.  He  had  difficulty  in  getting  all  his  lieu- 
tenants to  take  the  same  view,  and  there  were  some 
clashes  between  red  men  and  white;  clashes  not  at 
all  remarkable  either  for  the  skill  of  the  combatants 


THE  WAY  OF  A  SULTAN  183 

or  the  number  of  the  corpses.  But  few  settlements 
made  in  regions  where  Indians  were  numerous  had 
as  little  trouble  as  those  of  the  Mormons. 

Nor  did  Brigham's  supervision  of  affairs  end  with 
such  broad  matters  as  directing  settlements  and  out- 
lining Indian  policy.  He  was  no  behever  in  the  plan 
of  letting  people  follow  their  natural  bent.  In  his 
political  gospel,  all  men  were  born  free  to  join  the 
Latter  Day  Saints,  and  equal  in  obligation  to  serve 
that  terrestrial  Zion.  From  the  time  he  entered  the 
valley  until  the  settlement  had  grown  too  large  for 
any  one  to  keep  in  touch  with  all  its  activities,  Brigham 
ordered,  altered,  directed,  supervised,  and  took  toll 
from  every  work  of  any  importance  in  his  little  empire. 
Practically  every  industry  of  the  valley  was  directed 
by  him,  and  established  at  his  order;  and  the  men  who 
engaged  in  it  were  chosen  by  him.  In  many  of  these 
industries,  he  was  chief  owner,  either  for  himself  or 
for  the  church.  The  distinction  was  doubtless  clear  in 
his  mind  when  these  partnerships  were  formed;  but 
it  did  not  remain  so.  Long  before  his  death,  there 
had  ceased  to  be  any  definite  line  between  the  prop- 
erties which  Brigham  held  for  himself,  and  those 
which  he  held  for  God  Almighty;  and  in  such  cases 
of  uncertainty,  he  usually  gave  himself  the  benefit  of 
the  doubt. 

It  is  not  easy  to  see  why  Brigham  thought  the 
manufacture  of  liquor  a  necessary  branch  of  industry; 
but  that  he  did  so  reckon  it  is  clear.  The  church 
discipline,  as  explained  before,  frowns  on  the  use  of 
liquors;  and  Brigham's  personal  habits  were  abstem- 
ious;— far  more  so  than  those  of  some  of  his  fol- 
lowers. In  later  life,  when  weakened  by  illness,  he 
used  occasionally  to  take  a  glass  of  sweetened  wine 


184  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

and  water.  That  was  about  the  extent  of  his  drink- 
ing. Yet  as  early  as  the  winter  of  1849-50,  the  manu- 
facture of  whiskey  known  as  "  valley  tan  "  was  be- 
gun; and  Brigham  had  an  interest  in  the  distillery. 
The  stuff  turned  out  by  this  establishment  was  no 
worse  than  the  usual  "  moonshine,"  and  the  canny 
church  authorities  used  to  lessen  the  likelihood  of 
drunkenness  and  increase  church  profits  at  a  stroke 
by  mixing  the  precious  brew  with  water.  Gentiles 
who  bought  this  stuff  used  to  wax  eloquent  on  the 
amount  one  had  to  swallow  to  arrive  at  the  "  glorious 
refects  thereafter,"  though  a  few  bibulous-minded 
'Saints  appeared  to  have  no  such  difficulty.  When  the 
community  was  short  of  seed  after  the  crop  failure 
some  years  later,  Brigham  proclaimed  severe  penalties 
for  any  one  who  should  use  either  grain  or  potatoes 
to  make  whiskey. 

The  first  effort  to  establish  a  wine  industry  in  Utah 
is  more  excusable.  A  colony  of  Swiss  vineyardists 
came  to  Utah,  and  settled  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
territory — the  part  still  known  as  "  Dixie."  Wine- 
making  was  the  only  industry  they  knew ;  they  wished 
to  continue  it,  and  Brigham  encouraged  and  helped 
them.  "  Dixie  wine  "  and  "  valley  tan  "  were  at  one 
time  among  the  chief  articles  of  export.  Like  those 
ancient  Jews  who  sold  to  the  stranger  meat  which  it 
was  unlawful  for  them  to  eat  themselves,  the  Saints 
had  no  scruples  about  contributing  to  the  drunkenness 
of  the  Gentile  world. 

While  building  up  divers  forms  of  simpler  manu- 
factures, Brigham  never  forgot  that  the  jchief  re- 
liance of  his  people  must  be  on  agriculture.  Within 
a  comparatively  short  time,  the  Mormons  had  learned 
the  science  and  art  of  irrigation;  and  they  practised 


THE  WAY  OF  A  SULTAN  185 

it  with  increasing  success.  In  the  epistle  sent  out 
from  Winter  Quarters  in  1847,  Brigham  had  called 
on  the  gathering  faithful  to  bring  with  them  trees  and 
shrubs;  and  this  command  was  obeyed  almost  from 
the  first.  At  least  as  early  as  1849,  the  Mormons  be- 
gan planting  orchards.  The  planting  had  little  in 
common  with  the  scientific,  commercial  orchard  busi- 
ness of  some  irrigated  regions  to-day;  but  it  served 
the  needs  of  its  time.  Utah  had  thriving  apple,  peach, 
and  pear  orchards  thirty  years  before  any  other  arid 
state,  except  California;  and  in  some  lines  of  horti- 
culture, even  California  was  left  behind.  Every 
American  settler  of  that  day  deemed  it  necessary  to 
his  salvation  to  become  a  landowner.  The  Mormons 
accepted  this  wise  gospel,  and  demanded  that  every 
landowner  should  in  addition  be  a  tree-planter.  Not 
only  orchard,  but  shade  and  ornamental  trees,  were 
brought  into  the  valley.  Conspicuous  among  these 
last  was,  and  is,  the  Lombardy  poplar.  This  tree 
flourishes  in  northern  Utah  even  more  luxuriantly 
than  in  northern  France,  and  has  become  as  essen- 
tial a  part  of  landscapes  in  the  Salt  Lake  valley  as  it 
has  been  for  centuries  in  the  valley  of  the  Seine. 

In  agriculture,  too,  Brigham's  insistent  domination 
was  felt.  When  he  travelled  from  his  palace  in  Salt 
Lake  City  to  one  of  the  outlying  provinces,  he  was 
always  expected  to  preach  from  the  local  pulpit.  Half 
the  time — or  more — his  sermon  would  consist  of  a 
round  scolding  on  the  bad  fences  of  the  community, 
or  the  choked-up  character  of  their  irrigation  ditches, 
or  the  poor  quality  of  bulls  and  rams  kept  for  breed- 
ing. Brigham  had  that  faculty  so  vital  to  a  dictator, 
an  incessant  and  minute  though  not  always  accurate 
observation.     In  the  march  across  the  plains  it  was 


186  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

said  that  he  could  hear  the  squeak  of  an  ungreased 
wagon  wheel  and  note  a  badly  fitted  ox-yoke  twice 
as  far  as  any  other  man  in  the  party;  and  this  same 
instant  notice  was  manifest  in  his  management  of  his 
people.  To  him,  it  was  an  economic  crime  for  men 
to  buy  anything  they  could  grow  or  make.  The  sound- 
ness of  this  view  of  things  is  open  to  dispute;  but 
Brigham  held  it  religiously,  and  the  community  fol- 
lowed his  will.  Each  man  must  raise  his  vegetables, 
his  wheat,  his  potatoes,  and,  if  possible,  his  wool. 
Macaulay  has  said  that  while  we  may  make  shift  to 
live  under  the  rule  of  a  tyrant,  to  be  governed  by  a 
busybody  is  more  than  human  nature  could  bear. 
Macaulay  is  a  sound  historian — so  sound  that  the 
half-educated  generation  which  followed  on  his  own 
deemed  him  ignorant — but  he  failed  to  make  one 
necessary  qualification  of  his  dogma.  Human  nature 
can  bear  anything  that  is  imposed  upon  it  in  the  name 
of  religion,  and  upheld  by  a  vigorous  and  interested 
priesthood. 

There  were  advantages  in  this  centralized  control 
of  industry,  especially  while  the  system  was  new. 
The  diversified  experience  and  quick  intelligence  which 
can  be  bred  only  under  a  regime  of  individualism  were 
at  Young's  command;  and  he  managed  these  qualities 
in  a  manner  that  for  a  season  seemed  to  the  advantage 
of  all  concerned.  The  entire  weight  of  church 
authority  was  put  behind  any  industry  which  he 
wished  to  establish  in  the  valley.  The  tithing  fund 
usually  furnished  a  part  of  the  necessary  capital,  and 
church  command  brought  the  custom.  There  was  no 
industrial  quarrelling,  no  slip  between  cup  and  lip. 
Brigham  saw  that  the  wool-clip  was  ready  when 
needed  by  the  woollen  mills;  and  that  the  tannery 


THE  WAY  OF  A  SULTAN  187 

started  by  church  order  was  supplied  with  hides.  Not 
even  a  despotic  authority  can  entirely  control  the 
mercantile  activities  of  men,  but  the  church's  constant 
hectoring  kept  the  people  buying  home  products  wher- 
ever the  difference  between  these  and  the  "  Babylon- 
ish "  things  imported  from  outside  was  not  too  great. 

The  personal  element  likewise  helped  for  a  time  in 
the  success  of  church-managed  industry.  Brigham 
was  a  splendid  judge  of  men — though  his  prejudices 
led  him  into  some  blunders;  and  he  could  shift  and 
alter  the  directing  force  of  local  industry  at  will.  He 
allowed  no  misfits  in  the  community,  so  far  as  his 
education  and  intellect  enabled  him  to  recognize  mis- 
fits. Ha  man  were  pursuing  a  vocation  for  which 
he  was  not  adapted,  Brigham  found  something  else 
for  him  to  do.  H  the  manager  of  a  mill  were  un- 
satisfactory, Brigham  called  him  on  a  mission,  and 
put  another  man  in  his  place.  To  be  called  on  a  mis- 
sion was  a  compliment  that  kept  the  deposed  super- 
intendent from  feeling  injured,  and  work  better  suited 
to  his  qualities  was  found  for  him  when  he  returned. 

So  far  as  one-man  management  of  communities  can 
succeed,  the  Brighamized  industry  of  the  Salt  Lake 
valley  was  successful.  It  enforced  industry,  it  less- 
ened friction,  it  diversified  occupations.  More  im- 
portant still,  it  went  far  toward  abolishing  the  curse 
of  poverty.  As  soon  as  starvation  ceased  to  menace 
the  entire  community,  it  ceased  to  threaten  any  one 
in  that  community.  The  moment  prosperity  arrived 
in  the  valley,  it  was  distributed,  in  some  measure, 
to  all. 

But  the  effect  of  this  paternal  system  soon  showed 
itself  in  a  uniform,  self-satisfied  mediocrity.  The 
little  kingdom  did  not  utterly  crystallize,  because  the 


188  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

wicked  world  kept  intruding  upon  it,  and  compelling 
it  to  reshape  itself  in  newer  and  better  forms.  But 
it  came  as  near  to  crystallization  as  this  outside  pres- 
sure and  infiltration  would  permit.  There  was  little 
invention,  and  less  experiment.  The  grist-mill  in 
Cache  valley  or  Sanpete  valley  was  merely  a  smaller 
or  larger  replica  of  the  grist-mill  at  Salt  Lake  City. 
The  orchard  of  one  farm  showed  only  accidental  differ- 
ences from  the  orchard  of  the  rest.  Manufactures 
were  developed  to  a  point  where  they  satisfied  the 
crude  wishes  of  a  frontier  community,  and  could 
undersell  merchandise  that  had  to  bear  the  long  wagon- 
haul  across  the  plains.  Having  reached  this  point, 
manufacturing  development  stopped  almost  alto- 
gether; and  when  the  railroad,  a  score  of  years  later, 
brought  genuine  competition  to  the  valley  of  the 
Saints,  the  product  of  these  church-nourished  indus- 
tries was  deserted  for  the  better  and  cheaper  goods 
from  the  "shops  of  Babylon." 

Had  Brigham's  successors  been  endowed  with  the 
same  abilities  and  inspired  by  the  same  motives  as  his 
own,  many  evils  now  grossly  apparent  in  the  Mormon 
church-state  might  have  been  minimized  or  averted. 
But  the  fundamental  evil  of  blind  submission  of  the 
many  to  arbitrary  control  by  the  few  would  have  re- 
mained the  same. 


XX 

A  PATRON  OF  ART 

EARLY  in  the  history  of  the  settlement,  there 
appeared  in  Utah  people  who  were  of  little 
use  in  the  production  of  material  wealth — 
musicians,  painters,  actors,  dancing-  and  fencing-mas- 
ters. If  these  obtained  the  favour  of  King  Brigham, 
they  were  assisted  to  make  a  living  in  their  own  way. 
A  teacher  of  music  or  dancing  was  encouraged  to 
open  a  school,  and  royal  edict  went  forth  that  this 
school  must  be  patronized.  It  was  as  much  a  matter 
of  course  that  a  boy  belonging  to  the  "  first  families  '* 
should  take  regular  lessons  in  music  and  dancing  as 
that  he  should  be  able  to  repeat  his  catechism.  The 
first  fencing-school  opened  in  Salt  Lake  City  failed, 
or  at  least  did  not  prosper;  Brigham  was  not  suffi- 
ciently interested  in  this  exotic  form  of  physical  cul- 
ture to  dragoon  his  followers  into  supporting  it.  But 
the  dancing-schools  grew  and  throve  year  by  year. 
Even  before  the  Great  Trek,  the  Mormons  had  been 
famed  as  inveterate  dancers;  and  in  the  new  Zion, 
going  to  the  dances  became  almost  a  matter  of  re- 
ligion. Brigham  himself  was  an  excellent  dancer; 
and  he  and  his  apostles  were  frequent  attendants  at 
balls.  It  was  a  mark  of  great  favour  when  Brigham 
led  out  some  woman  on  the  floor  for  a  cotillion.  In 
fact,  when  Brigham — or  any  of  his  lieutenants  of  the 
church, — danced  twice  at  any  one  ball  with  an  un- 
married lady,  the  gossip  was  as  unctuous  and  conclu- 

189 


190  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

sive  as  when  Louis  le  Grand  paid  especial  attention 
to  some  new  favourite.  Every  one  assumed  that  in 
the  near  future,  there  would  be  a  new  polygamous 
marriage. 

As  illustrating  the  grotesque  mingling  of  this  rather 
laboured  culture  with  the  hardships  of  frontier  life, 
we  may  note  that  for  years  throughout  the  outlying 
settlements  of  Utah,  the  standard  price  of  a  ticket  to 
a  dance  was  an  order  on  the  tithing-house  for  a  bushel 
of  wheat. 

Music  was  held  in  at  least  equal  honour  with  danc- 
ing. We  have  seen  how  Brigham,  on  coming  out  from 
Nauvoo  to  cheer  the  pilgrims,  camped  on  Sugar 
creek,  brought  the  Nauvoo  band  with  him,  and  played 
and  danced  the  people  into  good  humour  before  as- 
sembling them  to  ''  lay  down  the  law  "  that  should 
rule  them  during  their  westward  march.  Choral  sing- 
ing was  developed  very  early  in  the  Utah  settlement; 
and  to  this  day,  there  is  probably  no  other  community 
of  equal  numbers  in  America  that  has  half  so  many 
trained  part-singers  as  Salt  Lake  City. 

Music — at  least  in  its  choral  and  orchestral  forms — 
is  the  one  art  which  demands  discipline  rather  than 
individuality.  Yet  one  of  the  most  individual  of  all 
arts  was  highly  honoured  in  Brigham's  empire;  the 
art  of  the  drama.  Brigham  loved  the  theatre,  and 
very  soon  established  dramatic  performances  in  Salt 
Lake  City.  The  actor  was  a  person  even  more  highly 
considered  in  the  community  than  the  singer  or  danc- 
ing-master. As  a  rule,  the  actor  had  some  other  voca- 
tion, nominally,  at  least.  He  was  usually  a  priest, 
and  often  a  polygamist.  Two  of  Brigham's  favourite 
clerks  were  actors  in  his  stock  company — and  it  has 
been  said  that  Brigham  himself  did  not  disdain  to 


A  PATRON  OF  ART  191 

take  part  in  a  performance.  Several  of  Brigham's 
daughters  became  actresses;  and  at  least  three  of 
these  became  plural  wives  in  prominent  families,  con- 
tinuing their  work  on  the  stage  in  the  intervals  of 
child-bearing. 

Several  notable  additions  to  the  American  stage 
have  come  from  the  Mormon  community. 

This  frank  and  genuine  recognition  of  dramatic  art 
by  the  "  powers  "  made  Salt  Lake  City  a  very  pleasant 
port  of  call  for  even  the  most  celebrated  actors.  Sev- 
eral men  and  women  of  international  reputation  on 
the  stage  were  induced  by  Brigham  to  spend  a  season 
in  Salt  Lake  City,  playing  in  his  stock  company, 
George  Paunceforte,*  James  A.  Heme,  and  Julia  Dean 
Hayne  were  some  of  these,  and  the  last  has  the  honour 
of  having  interposed  a  successful  barrier  to  Brigham's 
matrimonial  ambitions.    He  fell  in  love  with  this  ex- 


*  In  1897,  while  travelling  along  a  country  road  in  Japan,  at 
the  top  of  a  hill  I  saw  a  tea-house  and  beautiful  garden,  enclosed 
within  a  wall  somewhat  after  English  fashion.  The  swinging 
sign  in  front  read :  "  Shakespeare  Tavern.  George  Paunce- 
forte." I  could  not  conceive  that  any  Japanese  had  such  a 
name.  On  the  other  hand  it  would  be  more  surprising  if  there 
were  an  English  tavern  in  Japan,  where  foreigners,  at  that  time, 
were  not  allowed  to  own  land  except  within  city  concessions. 
And  this  place  carried  with  it  an  air  of  permanency  and  owner- 
ship. At  the  gate  I  paused  for  a  moment  and  studied. 
"  Shakespeare."  "  George  Paunceforte."  The  conclusion  was 
obvious. 

I  went  in  and  was  greeted  by  a  courtly  old  Englishman  of 
sixty-five  or  seventy  years  of  age.  He  was  tall,  splendid 
looking,  graceful — his  hair  and  moustaches  snow  white.  His 
Japanese  wife  came  into  the  room  and  bowed  her  head  to  the 
floor  as  a  mark  of  welcome.  He  introduced  her  as  Mrs.  Paunce- 
forte. While  we  were  taking  tea  I  glanced  about  and  saw  a 
copy  of  the  Mormon  Church  Deseret  News  lying  on  a  table. 
Then  I  said  to  Mr.  Paunceforte :  "  Do  you  remember  standing 
in  the  lane  between  Brigham's  theatre  and  one  of  his  houses 
one  afternoon,  talking  with  '  Punk '  Young,  one  of  Brigham's 
beautiful  and  favourite  daughters?"    He  glanced  at  me  quiz- 


19«  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

cellent  actress,  and  pressed  his  suit  with  all  the  ardour 
of  a  boy  of  eighteen,  but  was  firmly  if  gently  rejected. 
This  is  the  only  publicly  known  instance  when  Brig- 
ham  wooed  in  vain. 

But  while  Brigham  countenanced  and  encouraged 
such  departures  from  narrow  utilitarianism  as  pro- 
vided entertainment  for  himself  and  contentment  for 
his  people,  he  set  his  face  against  other  professions 
which  most  people  do  not  class  as  useless.  Like  the 
pious  colonist  of  early  Pennsylvania,  Brigham  wanted 
no  "  beggars  nor  olde  maydes,  neither  lawyers  nor 
doctours,  with  licence  to  kill  and  make  mischief." 

The  opposition  to  doctors,  indeed,  came  near  being 
ingrained  in  Mormonism.  There  are  few  religions 
which  in  the  first  callow  confidence  of  youth  have 
sense  enough  to  keep  from  taking  a  fling  at  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine;  and  the  cree?l  of  Joseph  Smith  and 
Sidney  Rigdon  is  not  among  these  exceptionally  gifted 


zically  and  replied :  "  I  remember  talking  to  '  Punk '  Young 
there  whenever  I  could,  which  was  seldom,  for  the  Lion  of  the 
Lord  kept  a  close  watch  over  his  daughters,  and  he  had  many- 
eyes  to  help  him."  Then  I  interrogated:  "Do  you  remember 
reaching  up  and  pulling  over  Brigham's  garden  wall  a  branch  of 
an  apricot-tree  and  giving  some  of  the  fruit  to  a  little  boy  who 
stood  in  the  lane  watching  you  and  *  Punk '  with  rapt  admira- 
tion? Do  you  remember  urging  him  to  run  away  with  the 
fruit  as  a  reward?"  He  laughed  and  said:  "I  remember  it 
very  well,  as  it  was  the  last  time  I  had  an  opportunity  to 
talk  with  the  beautiful  '  Punk. '  "  "  Well,"  I  said,  "  I  was  that 
little  boy."  He  seized  me  in  warm  embrace  and  said :  "  So  you 
are  from  among  my  old  friends,  the  Mormons."  Then  he  con- 
tinued :  "  I  was  coming  on  magnificently  in  my  art  in  Salt  Lake ; 
but  I  made  two  inevitable  mistakes.  I  danced  once  too  often 
at  a  party  with  the  lovely  Amelia  Folsom,  who  was  Brigham's 
favourite  wife ;  and  I  fell  in  love,  also,  with  his  charming  daugh- 
ter. The  meeting  in  the  lane  between  the  theatre  and  one  of 
Brigham's  houses  was  a  tryst.  But  it  was  the  last.  Not  even 
my  art,  to  which  Brigham  was  devoted,  was  sanctified  enough 
to  entitle  me  to  a  marriage  union  with  a  member  of  his  family." 

F.  J.  C, 


A  PATRON  OF  ART  193 

faiths.  Joseph  "  healed  "  Brigham  of  malarial  fever 
at  Nauvoo — though  the  exorcised  devils  came  back  so 
promptly  that  the  cured  man  had  to  be  carried  on  a 
mattress  to  the  house  of  his  friend;  and  there  he  lay- 
four  days  before  even  his  iron  will  and  magnificent 
strength  enabled  him  to  continue  his  journey.  Brig- 
ham  "ministered  to"  a  sick  Indian  child  not  long 
after  his  arrival  in  Utah;  and  got  much  credit — at 
least  from  church  historians — from  the  miracle  of 
cure  which  he  worked.  The  fact  that  Brigham's 
cousin,  Willard  Richards,  was  himself  a  physician 
doubtless  helped  modify  the  original  hostility  to  medi- 
cine; but  it  is  not  entirely  gone,  even  yet.  During 
early  days  in  Utah,  the  ordinary  rule  in  dealing  with 
sickness  was  reversed.  When  a  man  was  ill,  the  el- 
ders came  first  to  anoint  and  "  administer  '*  to  him, 
and  pray  over  him,  and  urge  him  to  exert  his  faith 
for  recovery.  If  these  measures  failed,  and  the  Lord 
did  not  see  fit  to  heal  the  patient,  the  doctors  were 
given  a  chance.  It  is  worth  noting  that  Brigham 
did  not  allow  his  own  illness  to  progress  very  far 
before  calling  in  a  physician  to  relieve  Providence 
from  further  worry  about  so  important  a  case. 

Brigham's  dislike  for  the  legal  profession  was 
rather  a  business-manager's  abhorrence  of  waste,  than 
a  tyrant's  jealousy  of  the  restraints  of  law.  Restraint 
touched  him  so  seldom  that  he  had  little  chance  to 
develop  this  form  of  antagonism.  He  felt  that  time 
and  money  spent  in  litigation  were  time  and  money 
wasted.  It  never  occurred  to  his  direct  and  forthright 
intelligence  that  the  forms  which  consumed  time 
might  on  occasion  preserve  liberty — nor  did  he  think 
of  liberty  as  a  thing  in  itself  worth  preserving.  Every 
religious  community  has  practised  some  form  of  ar- 


IW  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

bitration  in  the  settlement  of  its  internal  disputes;  but 
the  Mormons  worked  it  out  in  greater  detail  than 
any  others,  and  applied  it  to  far  more  complicated 
affairs. 

On  February  14,  1849,  Salt  Lake  City  was  divided 
into  nineteen  wards,  each  presided  over  by  a  bishop. 
This  bishop  was  not  merely  an  ecclesiastical  officer,  but 
a  civil  one  as  well.  He  was  a  sort  of  mayor  over  a 
little  municipality,  and  also  a  judge  or  kadi  who  was 
charged  with  the  punishment  of  minor  offences  and 
the  settlement  of  all  ordinary  disputes.  If  two  of  the 
brethren  could  not  agree,  the  case  was  brought  be- 
fore the  bishop,  who  heard  both  sides  and  gave  judg- 
ment. A  sort  of  indefinite  appeal  to  higher  church 
powers  was  permitted,  but  was  not  often  exercised. 
So  long  as  society  was  simple,  and  all  disputants  be- 
longed to  the  same  church,  there  was  little  injustice, 
and  a  vast  saving  of  time  and  expense  by  this  method. 
Brigham  used  often  to  score  these  bishops'  courts  in 
unsparing  terms;  but  in  this  as  in  all  things  when 
checking  or  trying  to  guide  his  people,  Brigham's 
bark  was  far  worse  than  his  bite.  In  the  main  he 
was  a  just  man;  his  position  forced  him  to  desire  jus- 
tice in  the  vast  majority  of  cases;  he  had  power  at 
any  time  to  end  these  bishops'  courts  with  a  word — 
and  he  did  not  speak  that  word. 

This  is  as  good  a  place  as  any  to  note  one  error 
into  which  nearly  every  Gentile  writer  on  Mormon 
institutions  has  fallen.  Every  one  has  taken  Brig- 
ham's  scolding  sermons  as  proof  of  the  awful  iniquity 
of  the  people  who  were  addressed  in  such  terms.  The 
folly  of  this  is  surely  obvious,  yet  it  has  somehow 
escaped  attention.  The  outsider  who  took  literally  the 
terms  of  a  domestic  curtain  lecture  would  be  laughed 


A  PATRON  OF  ART  195 

at;  yet  grave  and  sober  historians  have  made  a  similar 
mistake,  and  quoted  Brigham's  scathing  rebukes  of 
sin  as  proof  that  his  people  were  peculiarly  sinful. 
They  prove  the  speaker's  vehemence,  and  little  more. 
To  hear  Brigham  lecture  his  people  on  their  short- 
comings, one  would  have  thought  them  all  villains; 
and  to  hear  him  praise  his  people  when  they  were 
threatened  by  Gentiles,  one  would  have  thought  them 
all  saints. 

The  truth  is  that  Brigham  was  a  sort  of  scolding 
housewife  to  the  whole  Mormon  community.  He 
jawed  it  into  order.  We  shall  have  something  to  say 
later  about  the  remarkable  ecclesiastical  machinery  by 
which  he  maintained  his  power  and  authority;  but  the 
mechanics  of  the  system  were  after  all  of  less  moment 
than  the  dynamics  of  the  man.  He  was  anything 
rather  than  a  polished  orator.  He  was  a  good,  direct, 
forceful  speaker,  charged  to  the  brim  with  that  un- 
translatable thing  known  as  personality.  He  was 
rather  coarse,  though  seldom  offensively  so.  He  as- 
sumed the  right  to  scold  and  lecture  and  berate  his 
people  on  every  imaginable  topic,  and  they  granted 
the  claim.  He  scolded  polygamous  wives  for  quar- 
relling— his  own  wives  among  the  number.  He  scolded 
women  for  their  fondness  for  ornaments,  a  favourite 
topic  with  church  orators  from  the  days  of  Chrysos- 
tom,  at  least.  He  '*  roasted  "  the  sheepmen  of  Utah 
for  their  bad  luck  in  raising  lambs;  jawed  men  by 
name  for  laziness,  for  slackness  in  tithe-paying,  for 
failure  to  keep  discipline  in  their  families.  All  these 
topics  were  threshed  out  in  public,  at  the  tabernacle; 
and  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  all  were  written  down 
and  printed  by  church  authority.  The  man  who  will 
take  the  trouble  to  read  fifty  pages  of  the  Journal 


196  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

of  Discourses  may  not  find  his  respect  for  Mor- 
monism  increased.  But  if  he  has  any  knowledge  of 
evidence,  or  sense  of  proportion,  he  will  not  take  these 
frank  j  a  wings  from  the  pulpit  as  proof  of  any  un- 
usual wickedness  in  the  congregation. 


XXI 

THE  CHURCH  DUKES 

WHILE  Brigham  was  thus  mindful  of  the 
prosperity  and  happiness  of  his  people,  it 
must  not  be  imagined  that  he  forgot  the 
word  of  the  Lord  which  came  to  him  through  the 
mouth  of  Joseph  on  his  return  from  the  British  mis- 
sion in  1842.  In  that  revelation,  Brigham  was  ex- 
pressly commanded  to  stay  at  home  and  care  for  his 
family.  Divers  misfortunes  and  upheavals  had  com- 
pelled him  to  give  a  liberal  construction  to  that  part 
of  the  mandate  dealing  with  his  stay  at  home;  but 
the  care  of  his  multifarious  family  never  lacked  Brig- 
ham's  earnest  attention. 

Even  while  his  people  were  experimenting  with  the 
novel  agriculture,  Brigham  was  "  selecting  his  in- 
heritance ''  with  as  keen  an  eye  to  the  main  chance 
as  any  worldly-minded  Gentile  ever  displayed.  Land, 
water,  and  timber  were  the  only  visible  values  in 
Utah  at  that  time.  Brigham  had  forbidden  the  specu- 
lative holding  of  land  in  his  first  sermon  in  the  val- 
ley. But  in  the  same  sermon  he  had  claimed  owner- 
ship of  the  entire  region  for  the  Lord  and  His  Saints. 
As  administrator  for  the  Lord's  part  of  the  estate, 
perhaps  it  was  natural  for  Brigham  to  take  his  pay  in 
kind;  and  certainly  at  his  death,  some  of  the  best 
land  in  the  valley  passed  to  his  heirs  by  will. 

Water  and  timber  could  be  had  by  securing  con- 
trol of  the  canons  in  the  nearby  mountain  ranges. 

197 


198  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

At  the  October  conference  of  1852 — a  conference  of 
the  church,  please  note,  not  a  meeting  of  the  law- 
making body — Brigham  proposed  to  turn  these  canons 
over  to  individuals  who  should  build  roads  into  them 
and  collect  toll.  In  effect,  this  gave  the  city's  sole 
supply  of  wood  and  the  settlement's  chief  supply  of 
irrigating  water  into  private  hands,  with  no  restric- 
tions as  to  the  duration  of  this  control,  or  the  charges 
that  might  be  exacted.  The  meekest  Gentile  com- 
munity would  hesitate  before  putting  itself  so  unre- 
servedly into  the  grip  of  a  corporation.  But  the 
Mormon  empire  gloried  in  a  meekness — toward  its 
spiritual  lords — compared  to  which  the  most  docile 
gathering  of  American  Gentiles  is  stiff-necked  and 
rebellious.  Young's  proposition  was  carried  by 
unanimous  vote;  and  when  the  canons  were  assigned 
to  favoured  individuals,  it  was  found  that  he  had  one 
of  the  best.* 

This  is  a  fair  illustration  of  Brigham's  keen  money- 
making  instinct  at  work.  As  the  shepherd  of  his  peo- 
ple, he  deemed  it  his  duty  to  protect  them  from  wolves 
— and  his  right  to  gather  their  fleeces.  To  the  best 
of  his  knowledge  and  ability,  he  did  both.  It  would  be 
unfair  to  charge  him  with  unusual  greed.  The 
private  fortune  which  he  amassed — almost  wholly 
from  his  position  as  head  of  the  church — is  not  so 

*This  is  by  no  means  the  first  grant  of  the  sort.  City  Creek 
canon  had  been  assigned  to  Brigham  by  the  "  Deseret  Legis- 
lature" in  1850,  and  the  same  body  apportioned  divers  choice 
portions  of  wood  and  water  to  favoured  church  dignitaries.  But 
the  case  of  1852  shows  at  once  Brigham's  frank  claim  to  emolu- 
ment, his  absolute  mastery  of  the  church,  and  the  church's  undis- 
guised control  of  political  and  economic  affairs.  It  is  much  as  if 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  should  come  before  the  Anglican 
church  with  a  claim  for  dock  privileges  at  Southampton,  or  as 
if  the  college  of  cardinals  should  grant  to  private  parties  the 
privilege  of  charging  tolls  on  the  canals  of  Venice. 


THE  CHURCH  DUKES  199 

large  as  many  a  captain  of  industry  has  taken  from 
a  smaller  community  for  less  valuable  services.  It 
was  not  so  large  a  fortune  as  some  "  brave  and  self- 
sacrificing  missionaries  "  of  other  churches — and  their 
sons — have  gathered  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  But 
that  the  prophet,  seer,  and  revelator  of  God  on  earth, 
the  one  direct  link  between  the  world  and  the  heavens, 
should  concern  himself  with  money-making  at  all  is 
a  shock  to  the  religious  sense  of  the  devout,  and  to  the 
sense  of  fair  play  by  which,  in  the  absence  of  more 
authentic  guides,  the  heretic  must  set  his  course.  As 
head  of  the  church,  Brigham  made  merchandise  of 
the  gospel;  as  ruler  of  his  people,  he  gave  no  account 
of  the  moneys  placed  in  his  hands  for  community 
use.  At  no  other  point  in  his  varied  career  does  Brig- 
ham  so  far  fall  short  of  the  required  stature  of  great- 
ness as  in  this,  his  money-changing  in  the  temple 
where  he  ruled  as  high  priest. 

Considered  as  a  bit  of  practical  statecraft,  how- 
ever, Brigham's  care  to  put  money  into  his  purse  is 
easily  understood.  He  meant  to  rule  his  people  as 
long  as  he  lived,  and  that  his  sons,  if  possible,  should 
rule  after  him;  and  he  had  no  notion  of  being  a  king 
in  rags.  Neither  did  he  imagine  that  he  could  be 
king  without  a  supporting  aristocracy.  His  first  act, 
after  his  formal  elevation  to  headship  of  the  church, 
was  to  surround  himself  with  relatives  and  friends  as 
bulwarks  against  possible  disaffection.  His  first  care 
on  being  settled  in  Utah  was  to  tie  the  chief  men  of 
the  church  to  himself  with  bands  of  self-interest;  to 
create  a  group  of  ducal  families  whose  dignity  and 
riches  should  be  derived  from  the  favour  of  himself 
as  king. 

At  the  head  of  this  ducal  aristocracy  was  Heber 


THE  CHURCH  DUKES  199 

large  as  many  a  captain  of  industry  has  taken  from 
a  smaller  community  for  less  valuable  services.  It 
was  not  so  large  a  fortune  as  some  "  brave  and  self- 
sacrificing  missionaries  "  of  other  churches — and  their 
sons — have  gathered  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  But 
that  the  prophet,  seer,  and  revelator  of  God  on  earth, 
the  one  direct  link  between  the  world  and  the  heavens, 
should  concern  himself  with  money-making  at  all  is 
a  shock  to  the  religious  sense  of  the  devout,  and  to  the 
sense  of  fair  play  by  which,  in  the  absence  of  more 
authentic  guides,  the  heretic  must  set  his  course.  As 
head  of  the  church,  Brigham  made  merchandise  of 
the  gospel;  as  ruler  of  his  people,  he  gave  no  account 
of  the  moneys  placed  in  his  hands  for  community 
use.  At  no  other  point  in  his  varied  career  does  Brig- 
ham  so  far  fall  short  of  the  required  stature  of  great- 
ness as  in  this,  his  money-changing  in  the  temple 
where  he  ruled  as  high  priest. 

Considered  as  a  bit  of  practical  statecraft,  how- 
ever, Brigham's  care  to  put  money  into  his  purse  is 
easily  understood.  He  meant  to  rule  his  people  as 
long  as  he  lived,  and  that  his  sons,  if  possible,  should 
rule  after  him;  and  he  had  no  notion  of  being  a  king 
in  rags.  Neither  did  he  imagine  that  he  could  be 
king  without  a  supporting  aristocracy.  His  first  act, 
after  his  formal  elevation  to  headship  of  the  church, 
was  to  surround  himself  with  relatives  and  friends  as 
bulwarks  against  possible  disaffection.  His  first  care 
on  being  settled  in  Utah  was  to  tie  the  chief  men  of 
the  church  to  himself  with  bands  of  self-interest;  to 
create  a  group  of  ducal  families  whose  dignity  and 
riches  should  be  derived  from  the  favour  of  himself 
as  king. 

At  the  head  of  this  ducal  aristocracy  was  Heber 


200  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

C.  Kimball.  Aside  from  the  diffuseness  of  his  marital 
relations  and  the  singular  concentration  of  his  re- 
ligious and  political  allegiance,  Kimball  was  a  typical 
New  England  Yankee;  austere  of  look,  deliberate  of 
voice,  piercing  of  eye.  He  was  highly  esteemed  as 
a  prophet,  not  in  the  sense  of  having  an  especial 
license  to  speak  the  Lord's  will  to  His  people,  for 
that  was  Brigham's  monopoly;  but  in  the  sense  of 
being  a  foreteller  of  events.  He  promised  Parley  P. 
Pratt  an  heir  by  his  first  wife,  who  was  already  a 
consumptive  of  some  years'  standing,  at  a  time  when 
the  devout  couple  had  quite  given  up  hope.  The 
prophecy  was  fulfilled,  though  the  mother  died  almost 
as  soon  as  the  child  was  born.  During  the  pinching 
poverty  of  early  days,  before  the  crop  of  1849  had 
banished  for  a  season  the  threat  of  famine,  Kimball 
prophesied  that  within  three  years,  "  state's  goods '' 
would  be  sold  in  Salt  Lake  valley  cheaper  than  in  the 
cities  of  the  east.  This  prediction  was  fulfilled  in  the 
most  unexpected  way  by  the  harvest  from  the  over- 
land gold-seekers,  as  recounted  in  a  previous  chapter. 

Heber's  own  estimate  of  the  accuracy  of  his 
prophecies  may  be  judged  from  his  statement  that  if 
he  hit  the  truth  once  in  ten  times,  he  was  still  doing 
better  than  most  soothsayers.  In  that  comment,  his 
dry,  Yankee  sense  shone  through  the  trappings  of 
zealotry  and  pretence. 

But  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  Heber 
Kimball  was  not  his  gift  of  prophecy.  It  was  rather 
his  incredible  coarseness  of  speech;  a  coarseness  which 
would  have  banished  him  from  any  society,  save  one 
which  obeyed  him  as  prince  or  revered  him  as  prophet. 
He  did  not  stop  with  shocking  conventional  modesty; 
he  must  needs  use  speech  which  roused  a  physiological 


THE  CHURCH  DUKES  ^01 

disgust  in  his  hearers.  He  discussed  the  most  inti- 
mate personal  matters  in  the  most  public  way.  In 
all  things  a  worshipper  rather  than  a  mere  admirer 
of  Brigham,  Heber  seems  to  have  tried  to  imitate  the 
scolding  sermons  of  his  idol.  But  while  Brigham, 
like  Shakespeare,  dealt  in  filth  only  as  he  found  it 
mixed  with  life;  Heber,  like  Swift,  reveled  in  filth 
for  filth's  sake.  The  comparison  does  both  saints  too 
much  literary  honour;  but  it  serves  to  mark  a  distinc- 
tion which  cannot  be  explained  in  more  specific 
fashion. 

With  Heber,  as  with  Brigham,  a  fondness  for  in- 
cendiary speech  was  joined  to  a  reluctance  for  violent 
action.  During  the  "  reformation  "  a  few  years  later, 
Heber's  sermons,  like  those  of  his  chief,  were  a  direct 
incitement  to  riot  and  murder;  but  Kimball  seems  to 
have  borne  no  direct  part  in  the  deeds  which  his  un- 
bridled tirades  helped  to  precipitate.  He  preached  the 
doctrine  of  blood  atonement;  but  he  seems  never  to 
have  taken  this  method  of  atoning  for  any  one's  sins. 
His  coarseness  and  lack  of  reticence  made  him  useful 
to  Brigham.  He  said  the  things  which  Brigham 
wanted  said,  and  did  not  care  to  utter  himself.  In 
public  and  private  discourse  for  year  on  year,  Heber 
C.  Kimball  bore  witness  to  his  faith  that — to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes — Brigham  was  God  incarnate  on 
earth.  And  with  all  his  coarseness,  with  all  his  al- 
most sickening  adulation  of  his  chief,  Heber  Kimball 
was  a  man  cast  in  a  good-sized  mould.  He  had 
twenty  or  more  wives  and  a  swarm  of  children,  and 
seems  to  have  been  loved  by  all  of  them.  He  was 
always  ready  to  share  his  last  sack  of  flour  in  time 
of  distress — or  to  exact  the  last  sack  in  time  of 
plenty  from  a  recalcitrant  tithe-payer. 


202  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

On  the  left  of  Brigham,  as  Kimball  stood  on  the 
right,  was  William  Richards,  third  member  of  the 
First  Presidency.  A  large,  stout  man,  with  kindly, 
Franklinesque  face,  and  gentle  manner,  Richards 
brought  to  the  councils  of  the  church  an  element  of 
refinement  sorely  needed,  and  ofttimes  sadly  insuffi- 
cient. He  was  a  physician  and,  for  the  times,  a  good 
one;  and  through  his  familiarity  with  Joseph  the 
prophet,  Willard  Richards  wrote  some  of  his  medical 
ideas  into  holy  writ  by  inspiring  Joseph  to  dictate  the 
"  Word  of  Wisdom."  Richards  was  entirely  devoted 
to  his  chief  and  cousin,  Brigham;  but  the  services  he 
was  asked  to  perform  were  gentler  in  character  than 
those  demanded  of  some  others.  It  was  his  part  to 
edit  the  Deseret  News,  then  as  now  the  official  organ 
of  the  Mormon  empire — and  bring  the  power  of  the 
press  to  Brigham's  support;  to  serve  as  postmaster, 
and  make  the  United  States  mails  subject  to  Brig- 
ham's  orders;  to  "comb  the  whiskers"  of  Brigham's 
rough  language,  and  put  it  into  shape  for  more  fas- 
tidious company. 

Of  a  directly  opposite  character  was  Jedediah  M. 
Grant,  first  mayor  of  Salt  Lake  City,  founder,  or  at 
least  chief  preacher,  of  the  "  reformation "  whose 
blood-stained  annals  we  are  approaching;  and  pro- 
ponent of  the  doctrine  of  "  blood  atonement,"  which 
has  done  more  than  any  other  thing  save  polygamy  to 
bring  Mormonism  into  disrepute.  Grant  became  coun- 
sellor to  Brigham  upon  the  death  of  Willard  Richards. 
Grant  was  a  tall,  thin,  cadaverous-looking  man,  whose 
utterly  undisciplined  nature  was  inspired  by  an  utterly 
unquestioning  zeal.  He  was  an  ignorant  Cotton 
Mather,  a  polygamous  du  Chayla.  His  church 
biographer  paints  him  as  striding  over  the  fields  of 


THE  CHURCH  DUKES 

the  South,  preaching  with  flaming  appeal  and  threat 
his  favourite  gospel.  And  the  picture  is  symbolic. 
He  seemed  to  delight  in  the  ferocities  of  his  religion; 
to  welcome  opposition  that  he  might  feed  the  fires  of 
his  fanaticism.  He  was  incapable  of  doubt  and  in- 
sensible to  fear.  That  he  was  sincere  is  beyond  ques- 
tion. He  has  been  called  the  "sledge-hammer  of 
Brigham,'*  but  in  truth  he  was  the  one  man  in  the 
valley  whom  Brigham  could  not  manage.  He  was 
described  by  a  contemporary  as  "  the  most  essential 
blackguard  in  the  pulpit,"  but  blackguardism — even 
if  this  charge  were  true — is  a  mild  offence  compared 
to  his  thirsty  teaching  of  blood  atonement. 

George  A.  Smith,  a  cousin  of  the  murdered  prophet, 
owed  his  elevation  to  the  fact  that  Brigham  needed 
some  members  of  the  Smith  family  in  his  train.  As 
an  Apostle,  George  A.  Smith  made  an  imposing  figure; 
and  was  content  with  that  statuesque  part.  He  was 
perhaps  the  ablest  member  of  his  family,  intellectually 
speaking,  though  that  is  not  extravagant  praise.  At 
one  time,  when  Brigham  wished  a  legal  dummy, 
George  A.  Smith  was  made  trustee  in  trust  for  the 
church.  He  assumed  the  dignities  of  the  office — and 
then  Brigham,  George,  and  the  Mormon  people 
promptly  forgot  the  whole  matter;  and  church  busi- 
ness was  transacted  with  Brigham  once  more. 

John  Taylor,  who  succeeded  Brigham  as  president 
of  the  church,  was  an  Englishman  of  good  stock,  a 
well-educated,  dignified  man.  Normally,  he  was  a 
straightforward  and  truthful  man  also,  though  apt  to 
wax  a  bit  too  enthusiastic  in  picturing  the  glories  of 
Zion.  Yet  his  name  is  linked  with  a  piece  of  the  most 
unblushing  falsehood  that  even  ecclesiastical  history 
can  show.    In  the  summer  of  1850,  at  Boulogne-sur- 


204.  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

mer,  John  Taylor  denied  that  his  church  taught  or 
practised  polygamy.  He  protested  that  the  charge  of 
polygamy  was  too  outrageous  for  belief,  and  in  every 
way  strove  to  give  the  impression  that  he  and  his  fel- 
low Saints  regarded  such  a  doctrine  with  horror  and 
aversion.  At  that  very  moment,  John  Taylor  was  the 
husband  of  at  least  four  wives.  He  must  have  known 
that  his  falsehood  for  his  church  would  find  him  out; 
yet  he  denied  the  truth,  because  he  was  ordered  to 
deny  it.  He  would  have  sworn  that  Utah  was  a  level 
plain  had  he  been  ordered  to  do  so.  The  blighting 
nature  of  theocratic  absolutism  is  not  often  better  il- 
lustrated than  in  the  case  of  John  Taylor,  a  decent 
gentleman  by  instinct,  a  brave,  chivalrous  gentleman 
by  nature,  who  never  discredited  himself  in  any  act 
or  word  of  his  own  volition  and  yet  deemed  it  an 
honour  to  discredit  himself  by  prophetic  command. 

Taylor's  native  integrity  was  demonstrated  later 
when  he  himself  succeeded  Brigham.  One  of  his  first 
acts  was  to  separate  church  properties  from  personal 
holdings;  to  institute  strict  accountings;  to  limit  the 
access  of  priests  to  community  funds.  But  after  all, 
he  merely  changed  temporarily  the  method  of  the 
despotism — not  the  despotism  itself. 

It  is  needless  to  give  extended  portraits  of  other 
members  of  the  church  aristocracy  which  Brigham 
was  gathering  around  him.  One  man,  however,  must 
be  noticed;  not  because  he  came  within  the  charmed 
circle,  but  because  he  did  not.  This  man  was  Orson 
Pratt.  A  deep  student,  a  devout  Mormon,  an  able, 
handsome,  dignified  man,  Orson  Pratt  suffered  all  the 
later  years  of  his  life  from  one  of  Brigham's  few  per- 
sonal prejudices.  The  cause  of  that  prejudice  must 
remain  uncertain;  but  the  present  writers  believe  it 


THE  CHURCH  DUKES  205 

due  primarily  to  Brigham's  jealousy  of  Pratt's  attain- 
ments. Brigham  was  fond  of  sneering  at  learning, 
but  he  was  too  much  of  a  New  Englander  not  to  covet 
it.  His  loudly  voiced  contempt  concealed  a  great 
wistfulness.  He  never  hesitated  to  use  Pratt.  It  was 
Orson  Pratt  who  was  assigned  to  conduct  the  argu- 
ment with  Newman  as  to  whether  the  Bible  sanctions 
polygamy.  It  was  Orson  Pratt  who  invented  the 
weird  "  Deseret  alphabet  "  which  was  to  mark  off  the 
printing-presses  of  the  Lord's  chosen  from  those  given 
over  to  the  ungodliness  of  Gentiles.  But  Orson  Pratt 
was  left  poor  when  far  less  able  men  were  assisted  to 
wealth,  and  was  pushed  down  in  the  Quorum  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles  to  keep  him  from  succeeding  to  the 
presidency  on  Brigham's  death. 

All  these  church  dukes  were  polygamous.  Willard 
Richards  was  deemed  rather  scantily  married,  and  he 
had  about  eleven  wives.  Heber  Kimball  was  reputed 
to  have  more  than  twenty.  All  were  reputed  to  be 
"  good  family  men,"  nor  was  this  quality  due  solely 
to  their  large  experience  in  that  line.  And  all  owed 
their  prominence  in  the  church,  their  success  in  fi- 
nance, and  their  esteem  by  the  community  to  the 
favour  of  Brigham  Young.  Not  even  Jedediah  Grant 
need  be  excepted  from  this  last  classification.  Grant's 
ferocious  zeal  and  utter  fearlessness  would  have  made 
him  a  marked  man  in  any  community;  but  there  never 
was  a  moment  when  Brigham  could  not  have  crushed 
him  with  a  word.  Brigham's  embarrassment  in  this 
case  was  that  he  did  not  want  to  crush  Grant,  only 
to  manage  him;  and  with  the  best  will  in  the  world 
to  be  managed  by  the  chief  whom  he  revered  as  the 
visible  regent  of  God,  Jedediah  Grant  was  about  as 
bridlewise  as  the  classic  pony  of  Mazeppa. 


206  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

In  these  men,  Brigham  had  what  polite  Europe 
calls  an  aristocracy,  and  what  blunt  America  dubs  a 
political  machine.  In  the  tithing  system  he  had  a 
financial  power  which  carried  the  church  through 
troubles  that  would  have  wrecked  any  organization 
depending  on  voluntary  contributions. 

The  tithing  law,  as  noted  before,  was  established 
at  Far  West,  Missouri,  on  July  8,  1838.  We  have 
given  reasons  for  believing  Brigham  Young  the  author 
of  this  first  practical  financial  plan  in  the  annals  of 
the  church.  By  the  terms  of  this  rule,  every  convert, 
on  coming  into  the  fold  of  the  Saints,  had  to  give 
ten  per  cent  of  his  property  to  the  church.  When 
he  had  tithed  his  principal  once,  he  was  not  required 
to  do  so  again;  but  ten  per  cent  of  his  income  each 
year  belonged  to  the  church.  In  early  days,  tithes  were 
paid  in  kind.  <  The  church  always  has  struggled  to  col- 
lect tithes  on  gross  income  as  far  as  possible,  and 
tithe-payers  have  sought  to  restrict  the  payment  to 
net  returns.  Mormons  in  business  pay  on  their  net 
profits — ^any  other  method  would  ruin  them.  Mor- 
mons working  on  salary  pay  ten  per  cent  of  their  en- 
tire income  to  the  church;  and  if  they  are  working 
for  a  church  institution,  the  tithe  is  deducted  from 
their  pay-check.  Farmers  struggle  along  in  hit-or- 
miss  fashion;  some  probably  cheating  the  church  and 
others  certainly  cheating  their  families.  The  duty  of 
tithe-paying  still  forms  one  of  the  chief  staples  of 
Mormon  pulpit  eloquence;  for  it  is  as  true  of  Latter 
Day  Saints  as  of  other  folk  that  where  the  treasure 
is,  there  also  will  be  the  devoted  attention  of  the 
ruling  powers. 

At  no  time  in  Mormon  history  have  the  heads  of 
the  church  given  any  regular  public  accounting  of  the 


THE  CHURCH  DUKES  207 

moneys  thus  received.  For  more  than  a  generation, 
they  have  given  no  public  accounting  at  all.  Whoever 
is  church  emperor  for  the  time  being  has  absolute  and 
irresponsible  control  of  this  vast  supply  of  liquid 
wealth,  now  amounting  to  not  less  than  $4,000,000 
per  year — with  yet  other  millions  of  accumulations. 
He  may  use  it  for  the  church,  or  in  schemes  which 
promote  his  personal  profit  and  that  of  his  favourites; 
he  may  spend  it  wisely  or  fritter  it  away  on  some 
adult  substitute  for  toy  balloons.  The  devout  toilers 
whose  work  and  faith  have  produced  this  wealth  have 
nothing  to  say  about  the  matter. 

During  the  reign  of  Brigham,  while  tithes  were  un- 
questionably used  to  support  church  officials  and  even 
on  occasion  to  enable  them  to  build  personal  fortunes, 
the  general  management  of  this  fund  was  good.  It 
supplied  a  part  of  the  capital  for  new  community  in- 
dustries. It  financed  the  church  in  its  long  legal  bat- 
tle with  the  United  States  government.  It  gave  a 
fresh  start  in  life  to  the  poor  who  were  young  enough 
to  make  such  a  start;  and  it  provided  support  for  the 
poor  whose  working  days  were  over.  The  aged  and 
devout  Mormon  could  accept  help  from  the  tithing 
fund  with  no  loss  of  self-respect.  All  through  his 
working  life,  he  had  paid  money  into  that  fund;  and 
he  was  only  getting  back  what  he  had  given.  Much 
can  be  said  against  the  management  of  tithing,  even 
in  Brigham's  day;  but  it  showed  nothing  like  the  dis- 
grace now  seen  in  the  Mormon  empire,  when  men  and 
women  who  have  paid  tithes  all  through  their  produc- 
ing lives  are  sent  to  the  poorhouse  in  their  old  age; 
and  when  people  in  receipt  of  public  outdoor  relief 
pay  back  to  the  church  ten  per  cent  of  the  pitiful  dole 
they  receive  from  the  state. 


208  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

It  was  during  these  early  years  in  Utah  that  the 
ecclesiastical  or  rather  political  organization  of  the 
Mormon  church  received  its  present  shape  and  effi- 
ciency. Joseph  Smith  had  dreamed  into  existence 
almost  countless  priestly  offices.  Brigham  Young, 
even  while  Smith  was  yet  alive,  had  gradually  brought 
coherence  and  discipline  into  this  much-betitled  church 
militia.  But  the  Great  Trek  with  its  pressing  need 
of  martial  discipline,  and  the  new  settlement  with 
its  isolation,  were  needed  to  complete  the  structure 
of  religious  imperialism.  As  it  stands  to-day — ^as 
it  has  stood  since  Brigham  Young  w^as  firmly  set- 
tled in  his  place — there  are  twenty-six  persons  in  the 
Mormon  hierarchy.  The  presence  of  twenty-five  of 
them  is  an  act  of  grace  on  the  part  of  the  one. 

At  the  head  of  the  hierarchy  stood  the  president  of 
the  church  and  regent  of  the  Most  High  God.  He 
alone  was  authorized  to  speak  the  word  of  the  Lord 
to  the  children  of  men.  He  alone  was  authorized  to 
receive  revelations.  As  stated  before,  Brigham  put 
forth  but  one  revelation  during  his  entire  term  of 
office — and  that  while  he  was  in  name  no  more  than 
chief  of  the  Twelve  Apostles.  But  in  the  absence  of 
formal  revelation,  wisdom  was  supposed  to  be  his  by 
direct  inspiration  of  God,  and  few  indeed  were  the 
Mormons  in  good  standing  who  had  any  doubt  that 
to  resist  Brigham  was  to  resist  the  Lord. 

Associated  with  Brigham  in  his  office  were  his  two 
counsellors;  at  first,  Heber  Kimball  and  Willard 
Richards.  One  was  his  relative  and  the  other  was  his 
worshipper;  and  both  owed  their  elevation  to  the  will 
of  Brigham  alone. 

Next  below  the  First  Presidency  came  the  Quorum 
of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  for  three  years  after  Smith's 


THE  CHURCH  DUKES  £09 

death  the  supreme  governing  body — in  theory — of  the 
church.  It  had  been  the  ladder  by  which  Brigham  had 
cHmbed  to  power,  and  now,  emulating  many  a  royal 
example,  he  pushed  it  down  as  far  as  he  dared.  He 
reorganized  this  Quorum  in  such  wise  as  to  deprive 
Orson  Pratt  of  any  chance  to  succeed  to  the  presi- 
dency, and  put  John  Taylor  in  his  place.  All  va- 
cancies in  the  Quorum  during  Brigham's  life  were 
filled  by  him — and  all  vacancies  in  the  Quorum  ever 
since  have  been  filled  by  the  reigning  sultan  of  the 
church.  To  refuse  to  "  sustain "  the  president's 
choice  would  be  a  direct  rebellion  against  God  Him- 
self. 

At  one  side  in  this  hierarchy  stands  the  patriarch. 
This  is  an  office  hereditary  in  the  family  from  which 
Joseph  Smith  sprang,  and  seems  to  have  been  created 
to  provide  a  title  for  one  of  that  race.  The  patriarch 
has  no  real  power.  He  has  visions  of  a  somewhat 
lower  order  than  the  authorized  revelations  which 
come  to  the  president.  He  pronounces  blessings — for 
a  consideration;  and  in  general  deports  himself  as 
ecclesiastical  supernumeraries  have  done  since  the 
days  of  Amen  Ra. 

Next  below  the  Quorum  of  the  Twelve  in  direct  line 
of  power  are  the  seven  presidents  of  seventies.  These 
seven  in  a  way  are  subordinate  apostles,  and  are  sup- 
posed to  have  a  particular  interest  in  missionary  work. 
Finally — again  in  a  side  line — are  the  presiding  bishop 
and  his  counsellors,  who  have  immediate  charge  of 
church  properties.  The  importance  of  this  last  office 
dates  from  Brigham's  declining  years,  and  it  has  in- 
creased in  partial  ratio  with  the  vast  increase  of 
wealth  since  his  death. 

Following  the  example  set  by  Brigham,  the  chief 


210  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

of  the  Twelve  Apostles  is  heir-apparent  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  church. 

Below  this  hierarchy  there  was  organized — and 
there  still  subsists — a  myriad  and  close-knit  body  of 
local  church  rulers.  There  were  presidents  of  "stakes 
of  Zion."  There  were  bishops  over  wards — a  ward 
being  a  smaller  division  than  a  stake.  There  were 
elders,  teachers,  priests.  From  highest  to  lowest, 
every  capable  man  in  Mormon  ranks  was  given  some- 
thing to  do  for  the  church — and  kept  busy  doing  it. 

All  this  large  and  intricate  organization  was  in 
Brigham's  hands.  He  filled  vacancies  in  the  Quorum. 
He  named  the  presidents  of  seventies.  He  created 
bishops.  He  promoted,  deposed,  shifted,  supported, 
or  left  struggling  whomsoever  he  would — and  in  this 
irresponsible  despotism  he  has  been  followed  unto  this 
day.  Never  since  the  Mormon  church  was  founded 
has  the  congregation  of  the  people  nominated  a  ruler 
of  the  church,  nor  even  a  member  of  the  hierarchy. 
The  congregation  is  always  asked  to  "  sustain  *' — ^and 
always  does  so.  And  the  manner  of  that  "  sustain- 
ing "  is  a  pitiful  absurdity.  At  the  general  conference 
of  the  church,  one  of  the  hierarchy  announces :  "  It  is 
moved  and  seconded  that  we  sustain  [giving  the  name], 
as  prophet,  seer,  and  revelator  to  all  the  world."  And 
so  on,  through  the  list.  "  All  who  are  in  favour  of 
this  motion  signify  it  by  raising  the  right  hand."  A 
wave  of  hands  comes  from  the  vast  assemblage.  But 
no  "  motion  "  has  been  made.  Neither  nomination 
nor  opposition  is  permitted.  The  decree  of  God  has 
been  uttered.  The  people  are  allowed  to  ratify  but 
not  to  refuse  God's  irrevocable  choice.  On  one  occa- 
sion when  Brigham  was  installing  his  favourite  and 
erratic  son,  John  W.,  as  assistant  prophet,  seer,  and 


THE  CHURCH  DUKES  211 

revelator,  a  murmur  of  shocked  surprise  went  through 
the  congregation;  but  every  right  hand  was  raised. 
Recently,  when  Joseph  F.  Smith,  present  ruler,  was 
crowding  the  hierarchy  with  his  sons — in  order  to 
give  each  of  his  many  wives  a  representation — one  of 
the  congregation  muttered,  "  Too  much  Smith ! " 
Near  neighbours  in  the  tabernacle  tittered  their  ap- 
proval. And  then  mutterers  and  titterers  raised  their 
right  hands  to  "  sustain." 

Symonds  remarks  that  the  Jesuits  seem  to  have  dis- 
covered the  precise  point  to  which  intellectual  culture 
can  be  carried  without  intellectual  emancipation.  One 
might  say  with  yet  more  truth  that  the  Mormon 
church  had  learned  the  precise  point  to  which  the  ap- 
pearance of  popular  government  can  be  carried  with- 
out the  reality. 


H 


XXII 

THE  STATE  OF  "  DESERET  " 

^^  X  T  ^^  quiet,  how  still,  how  free  from  excite- 
ment we  live !  "  wrote  Parley  P.  Pratt  in 
a  private  letter  of  September,  1848.  "  The 
legislature  of  our  high  council,  the  decision  of  some 
judge  of  court  of  the  church,  a  meeting,  a  dance,  a 
visit,  an  exploring  tour,  the  arrival  of  a  party  of  trap- 
pers and  traders,  a  Mexican  caravan,  a  party  arrived 
from  the  Pacific,  from  the  States,  from  Fort  Bridger, 
a  visit  of  Indians,  or  perhaps  a  mail  from  the  distant 
world,  once  or  twice  a  year,  is  all  that  breaks  the 
monotony  of  our  busy  and  peaceful  life.  .  .  .  Here, 
too,  we  are  all  rich — there  is  no  real  poverty;  all  men 
have  access  to  the  soil,  the  pasture,  the  timber,  the 
water-power,  and  all  the  elements  of  wealth,  without 
money  and  without  price." 

Parley  was  trying  to  be  poetic  when  he  penned  these 
lines;  and  such  efforts  on  his  part  always  were  dis- 
astrous to  language  or  to  facts.  In  this  case,  both 
suffer  a  little;  but  the  author  manages  to  convey  one 
important  bit  of  information.  The  church  authorities 
were  courts,  legislatures,  and  executive  council  in  the 
early  days  of  the  colony;  and  they  were  these  things 
without  disguise;  that  is,  they  did  not  put  on  civil 
titles  when  they  assumed  to  perform  civil  func- 
tions. 

At  first  those  functions  were  not  very  important. 
A  few  persons  who  violated  the  rather  hazy  church 

212 


THE  STATE  OF  "  DESERET  "  213 

code  of  decorum  were  "  severely  reprimanded,"  and 
two  or  three  more  serious  offenders  were  publicly 
whipped.  "  President  Young,"  says  George  Q.  Can- 
non, "  was  decidedly  opposed  to  whipping,  but  matters 
arose  which  we  considered  required  punishment  at  the 
time."  There  being  no  jail,  the  most  natural  substi- 
tute for  this  emblem  of  civilization  was  the  whipping- 
post. 

In  March,  1849,  the  church  began  to  put  on  the 
disguise  of  civil  government.  A  convention  was  held, 
a  constitution  adopted,  and  a  governor  and  judges  of 
the  "  state  of  Deseret "  were  elected  by  unanimous 
vote  of  all  "  citizens  "  of  the  alleged  commonwealth. 
The  omission  of  a  legislature  /  is  significant.  The 
Mormons  were  seeking,  not  a  government,  which  they 
had,  but  a  means  of  getting  that  government  recog- 
nized by  the  republic  they  had  tried  to  escape.  Some- 
what later  in  the  spring,  a  legislature  was  chosen.  It 
met  July  2,  1849,  ^^^  adopted  a  memorial  to  Con- 
gress. The  interval  between  March  and  July  had  not 
been  wholly  barren  of  reflection,  and  the  church  lead- 
ers appreciated  the  fact  that  their  population  was  a 
bit  small  to  aspire  to  the  dignity  of  statehood.  There- 
fore, the  memorial  asked  Congress  either  to  admit 
"  Deseret "  as  a  state,  or  to  grant  "  such  other  form 
of  civil  government  as  your  wisdom  and  magnanimity 
may  award."  Almon  W.  Babbitt  was  chosen  to  carry 
this  message  to  Washington,  and  to  represent  the 
new  commonwealth  so  far  as  he  might  be  allowed 
to  do. 

Nothing  more  is  heard  of  the  "  Deseret  legislature  " 
until  January,  1850;  but  if  one  may  be  permitted  to 
paraphrase,  "  had  it  stayed  for  weeks  away,  the  people 
ne'er  had  missed  it."     The  gold  rush  that  passed 


214  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

through  the  Salt  Lake  valley  in  1849,  found  a  fully 
organized  government,  and  one  which  was  keenly 
alive  to  its  new  opportunities.  Without  troubling  to 
call  any  sort  of  legislative  assembly,  and  taking  no 
account  of  the  provision  of  the  federal  constitution 
which  forbids  the  levying  of  tariffs  inside  the  national 
boundary  line,  Brigham  and  his  church  associates  im- 
posed a  two  per  cent  duty  on  all  property  sold  in  Salt 
Lake  City  by  gold-seekers,  and  on  all  property  which 
remained  in  the  valley  during  the  winter.  Evidence 
is  pretty  strong  that  they  imposed  this  tax  likewise 
on  the  property  of  many  emigrants  who  were  merely 
passing  through;  but  this  the  Mormons  deny.  The 
point  need  not  be  pressed.  No  trifle  like  that  would 
add  anything  to  Brigham's  calm  assumption  of  in- 
dependent and  imperial  authority. 

The  memorial  to  Congress  was  presented  in  the 
Senate  December  27,  1849,  ^y  ^^  ^^^s  a  person  than 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  who  had  befriended  the  Mor- 
mons on  several  occasions  during  their  experiences  in 
Illinois.  He  had  no  leaning  toward  their  religious 
principles  or  political  habits;  but  he  was  too  intelli- 
gent a  man,  in  most  ways  too  just  a  man,  not  to  re- 
sent the  injustice  of  the  mob  that  attacked  them.  It 
is  natural,  however,  to  feel  a  vested  right  in  one  who 
has  done  us  a  kindness;  and  to  this  day.  Mormon 
writers  cannot  forgive  Stephen  A.  Douglas  for  re- 
fusing to  link  his  political  fortunes  absolutely  and  un- 
hesitatingly with  their  own. 

Four  days  later,  on  the  last  day  of  the  year,  a 
counter-memorial  was  presented  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  by  Mr.  Underwood,  a  Whig  from 
Kentucky.  This  document  was  signed  by  William 
Smith,  brother  of  the  murdered  prophet,  and  thirteen 


THE  STATE  OF  "  DESERET  "  215 

others.  It  protested  against  the  admission  of  '*  Des- 
eret,"  alleging  that  not  only  were  the  Mormons  of 
the  Salt  Lake  valley  practising  polygamy,  but  that 
they  were  actively  disloyal  to  the  Union.  Going  into 
particulars,  this  second  memorial  stated  that  before 
leaving  Nauvoo,  1,500  exiles  took  the  following  oath 
in  the  great  temple : 

"  You  do  solemnly  swear,  in  the  presence  of  Almighty 
God,  His  holy  angels,  and  these  witnesses,  that  you  will 
avenge  the  blood  of  Joseph  Smith  upon  this  nation,  and 
so  teach  your  children;  and  that  you  will  from  this  day 
henceforth  begin  and  carry  out  hostility  against  this  na- 
tion, and  keep  the  same  a  profound  secret,  now  and  ever. 
So  help  you  God !  " 

This  is  the  first  appearance  of  the  famous  oath  of 
blood  vengeance  which  has  troubled  the  Mormon 
hierarchy  from  that  day  to  this.  It  has  been  denied, 
denounced,  explained,  ridiculed;  cursed  by  bell,  book, 
and  candle;  but  it  still  persists.  It  persists,  because, 
in  substance,  it  is  true.  The  present  writers  do  not 
vouch  for  the  exact  language  of  this  vow  of  ven- 
geance, nor  for  the  number  who  repeated  it  in  the 
temple  at  Nauvoo.  But  that  some  such  vendetta  has 
been  handed  down  from  1844  ^ven  unto  this  day 
does  not  admit  of  reasonable  doubt.  In  1906,  the 
committee  on  privileges  and  elections  of  the  United 
States  Senate  declared  it  proven  that  Apostle  Reed 
Smoot,  then  and  now  senator  from  Utah,  had  taken 
a  similar  oath. 

Indeed,  such  an  oath  would  be  no  more  than  a 
formal  and  emphatic  statement  of  the  attitude  and 
teachings  of  the  Mormon  hierarchy  ever  since  the 


216  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

emigration  to  Utah.  Brigham  Young  thought  he  had 
found  a  place  where,  in  ten  years,  he  need  "  ask  no 
odds  of  the  Gentiles."  Parley  P.  Pratt  summoned 
the  powers  of  his  awful  muse  to  bear  witness  that 

"  Lo !  The  Gentile  chain  is  broken, 
Freedom's  banner  waves  on  high ! " 

Heber  C.  Kimball  made  boasting  prophecy  in  the 
heat  of  the  Civil  war  that  the  men  of  the  North 
and  the  South  would  kill  each  other,  and  that  the 
Saints  could  then  go  down  from  their  holy  mountains, 
gather  to  their  bosoms  the  war-widowed  women  of 
the  Gentiles,  and  breed  up  a  new  nation.  Joseph  F. 
Smith,  present  president  of  the  church,  still  speaks 
of  the  American  people  as  his  "  enemies,"  and  he 
means  enemies  in  a  literal,  physical  sense.  From  the 
beginning,  all  church  leaders  have  claimed  that  the 
theocracy  established  by  Joseph  Smith  and  continued 
by  Brigham  Young  and  his  successors,  is  the  only 
just  and  legitimate  government  on  earth;  and  that 
all  other  governments  are  illegal  usurpations  which 
the  Lord  will  overthrow  to  make  room  for  the  spread 
of  His  Saints  and  their  dominion. 

It  would  be  all  but  impossible  for  a  hierarchy  to 
cherish  and  proclaim  such  sentiments  through  seventy 
eventful  years  without  putting  them  in  some  such 
form  as  the  often  quoted  vow  of  vengeance.  Such 
a  vow  might  be  deduced  from  events  without 
any  direct  evidence — and  the  direct  evidence  is 
abundant. 

At  that  time,  however,  nothing  but  the  slavery  issue 
had  any  real  or  lasting  importance  at  Washington. 
After   divers  parliamentary   moves   and   delays,   the 


THE  STATE  OF  "  DESERET  "  21T 

Mormons  got  a  part  of  what  they  wanted.  A  bill: 
creating  the  territory  of  Utah  was  signed  September 
9,  1850.  The  boundaries  of  the  new  commonwealth, 
while  somewhat  more  modest  than  those  proposed  for 
"  Deseret,"  were  still  sufficiently  liberal.  Utah  as 
organized  included  everything  from  Oregon  to  New 
Mexico,  and  from  the  crest  of  the  Rockies  to  the 
crest  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas.  More  important  than 
the  extent  of  the  new  territory  was  the  personnel  of 
its  government.  Here  the  Mormons  were  favoured 
by  fortune  to  a  degree  which  they  may  be  pardoned 
for  believing  miraculous.  If  there  be  a  miracle  in 
the  matter,  however,  it  is  the  oft-recurring  miracle 
of  duplicity  which  a  naturally  honest  man  can  display 
in  behalf  of  a  chosen  creed. 

Colonel  Thomas  L.  Kane  belonged  to  one  of  the  old- 
est and  most  upright  families  of  Philadelphia.  He 
was  a  man  of  independent  means,  chivalrous  temper, 
enthusiastic  mind.  He  was  a  born  champion  of  the 
under-dog;  and  he  was  quite  unable  to  see  that  the 
under-dog  sometimes  deserves  his  position.  He  had 
been  a  friend  of  the  Mormons  for  years.  He  had 
denounced,  and  justly,  the  brutality  with  which  they 
were  driven  from  Nauvoo.  He  had  shared  their 
tents  at  Winter  Quarters,  suffered  there  from  the 
fever  which  was  decimating  their  ranks,  acted  as  their 
confidential  friend  and  adviser.  There  is  reason  to 
believe  that  he  joined  the  Mormon  church  during  his 
stay  on  the  Missouri;  but  if  so,  his  conversion  was 
not  made  public.  Doubtless  it  was  seen  that  he  could 
be  more  useful  to  the  Saints  in  the  character  of  a 
sympathetic  friend  than  in  that  of  an  adherent.  He 
came  forward  now  as  a  friend,  and  succeeded  in 
convincing  President  Fillmore  that  the  Mormons  were 


218  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

a  patriotic  and  much-maligned  people,  who  could  be 
trusted  with  absolute  control  of  the  territory  they  had 
settled.  He  denounced  as  false  the  stories  of  Mor- 
mon polygamy,  vouched  personally  for  the  character, 
attainments,  and  **  patriotism  and  devotion  to  the 
Union  "  of  Brigham  Young.  As  an  amazing  result 
of  Kane's  skill  in  diplomacy,  four  of  the  seven  terri- 
torial officers  appointed  by  President  Fillmore  were 
Mormons;  and  at  their  head  was  Brigham  Young  as 
governor,  commander  of  the  militia,  and  superintend- 
ent of  Indian  affairs ! 

These  appointments  caused  some  pleasure  when 
reported  in  Utah,  but  no  gratitude — save  perhaps  to 
Colonel  Kane.  The  Mormons  held  themselves  a 
peculiar  and  exalted  people;  they  believed  in  their  sole 
and  perpetual  right  to  rule  as  Mormons  over  the  re- 
gion they  had  been  first  to  settle;  and  instead  of  being 
thankful  that  so  many  of  their  people  had  received 
the  recognition  of  federal  appointment,  they  rather 
resented  the  notion  that  any  Gentiles  should  be  sent 
into  their  happy  valley.  Also,  there  were  some  mat- 
ters which  Brigham  wished  to  get  settled  and  out  of 
the  way  before  an  unsympathetic  judge,  or  secretary, 
should  arrive  to  scan  with  hostile  eye  the  perquisites 
of  the  Lord's  anointed.  In  December,  1850,  the  still 
existing  "  legislature  of  the  state  of  Deseret "  passed 
an  ordinance  "  providing  that  Brigham  Young  had 
sole  control  of  City  creek  and  canon;  and  that  he 
pay  into  the  public  treasury  the  sum  of  five  hundred 
dollars  therefor."  The  Dutchmen  who  bought  Man- 
hattan Island  of  the  Indians  for  $14  did  not  get  a 
much  better  bargain  in  their  generation  than  Brig- 
ham did  in  thus  gaining  this  creek  and  gorge. 

This  ordinance  was  signed  December  9 — ^by  Brig- 


THE  STATE  OF  "  DESERET  "  219 

ham,  of  course.  The  same  day  he  signed  a  grant 
conveying  to  Apostle  Ezra  T.  Benson  the  waters  of 
some  springs  in  the  Tooele  valley.  Three  weeks  later, 
Heber  C.  Kimball  got  the  waters  of  a  couple  of 
caiions,  though  his  grant  was  limited  to  the  use  of 
water  for  power  purposes.  Willard  Richards  got 
North  Cottonwood  canon.  George  A.  Smith  and 
Ezra  T.  Benson  got  sizable  grants  of  timber  in  the 
mountains.  The  Lord's  chosen  were  setting  their 
house  in  order  against  the  coming  of  the  Philistines; 
and  the  equal  access  to  natural  resources  which  Par- 
ley P.  Pratt  had  boasted  was  becoming  a  "  dim  re- 
membered story  of  the  old-time  entombed."  When 
the  territorial  legislature  met  in  the  early  fall  of  185 1, 
it  needed  only  to  pass  an  innocent-seeming  act  vali- 
dating the  *'  ordinances  "  of  its  predecessors.  We 
have  heard  much  these  latter  days  about  dummy 
entrymen,  but  a  dummy  legislature  makes  entrymen 
needless. 

Brigham  was  sworn  in  as  territorial  governor 
February  3,  1851;  the  oath  being  witnessed  by  Daniel 
H.  Wells,  ^' Chief  Justice,  Deseret."  On  March  28, 
the  "  Deseret  legislature  "  passed  a  resolution  accept- 
ing the  territorial  government  created  by  Congress, 
and  fixing  April  5  as  the  date  of  their  final  adjourn- 
ment. A  few  days  before  this  legislature  was  dis- 
solved, a  census  was  completed,  which  credited  Utah 
with  possessing  11,354  inhabitants.  It  is  an  eloquent 
commentary  on  arguments  about  the  necessity  and 
righteousness  of  polygamy  that  even  the  Mormon 
census-taker  found  nearly  700  more  males  than  fe- 
males in  the  territory. 

The  census  being  finished.  Governor  Young  called 
an  election  to  choose  a  legislature  and  a  delegate  to 


220  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Congress.  The  fact  that  only  1,259  votes  were  cast  at 
this  election  seems  to  show  that  the  census-taker  had 
not  overlooked  any  citizens.  Dr.  John  M.  Bemhisel, 
a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  was  elected  delegate  to  Con- 
gress by  a  unanimous  vote,  and  twenty-four  of  the 
twenty-five  members  of  the  legislature  were  selected 
by  the  same  sweet  accord.  Truly,  the  bickering  and 
strife  which  characterize  political  contests  in  less 
favoured  lands  were  far  removed  from  the  happy 
valley  of  Salt  Lake. 

A  teapot  tempest  was  on  the  way  toward  that  val- 
ley, however,  that  was  destined  to  upset  the  tempers 
and  perhaps  the  digestions  of  many  good  Saints.  The 
president  had  appointed  only  three  Gentiles  to  terri- 
torial office.  One  of  these  was  territorial  secretary, 
and  the  other  two  were  justices  of  the  supreme  court. 
The  chief  justice  and  secretary  arrived  in  Utah  the 
early  part  of  July.  The  Gentile  associate  justice, 
Perry  E.  Brocchus,  did  not  arrive  till  some  time  in 
August.  None  of  the  three  officials  found  Utah  to 
their  liking.  This,  perhaps,  was  natural  enough;  but 
it  is  idle  and  unfair  to  lay  all  the  blame  for  the  en- 
suing difficulty  on  Brigham  and  the  Mormons. 

Judge  Brocchus  was  invited  to  speak  at  the  general 
conference  held  September  7.  He  had  been  in  the 
territory  where  he  was  expected  to  administer  justice 
rather  less  than  a  month.  He  could  have  only  the 
most  superficial  knowledge  of  its  population  and  its 
problems.  He  was  justly  offended  and  indignant  at 
the  theocratic  despotism  which  even  that  short  sojourn 
enabled  him  to  see,  and  at  the  open  disloyalty  of  many 
of  the  church  leaders.  Probably  he  was  honestly  in- 
dignant, likewise,  at  the  practice  of  polygamy.  But 
he  had  not  hesitated  to  accept  the  services  of  these  dis- 


THE  STATE  OF  "DESERET"  m 

loyal  and  polygamous  men  in  an  effort  to  get  an  in- 
crease of  salary;  and  the  most  common  courtesy 
would  seem  to  demand  that  such  censures  as  he  felt 
it  necessary  to  pass  on  the  people  among  whom  he 
moved  as  a  judge  should  be  made  at  a  meeting  as- 
sembled for  that  specific  purpose,  and  should  be 
guarded  in  the  most  careful  manner  from  needless 
offensiveness. 

Even  in  that  cheap  time,  however,  it  was  not  easy 
to  employ  courtesy,  cool-headedness,  and  ability  to 
meet  a  crisis  for  $i, 800  per  year — the  salary  of  a 
territorial  judge.  Certainly  no  such  bargain  had  been 
secured  in  Perry  E.  Brocchus.  The  reports  of 
speeches  at  that  notable  meeting  are  not  very  reliable, 
since  the  best  of  them  were  committed  to  paper  some 
days  or  weeks  after  the  event.  But  it  is  fairly 
certain  that  after  criticising  Young  sharply  for 
uncomplimentary  remarks  about  General  Zachary 
Taylor,  Judge  Brocchus  used  words  substantially  as 
follows : 

"  I  have  a  commission  from  the  Washington  Monu- 
ment Association  to  ask  of  you  a  block  of  marble,  as 
a  test  of  your  citizenship  and  loyalty  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States.  But  in  order  for  you  to 
do  it  acceptably,  you  must  become  virtuous,  and  teach 
your  daughters  to  become  virtuous,  or  your  offering 
had  better  remain  in  the  bosom  of  your  native  moun- 
tains." 

The  bitterest  opponent  of  polygamy  to-day  would 
not — if  he  retained  any  sense  of  propriety — imply 
that  women  who  entered  polygamy  from  sincere  con- 
viction that  it  was  a  direct  command  of  God,  were  a 
whit  less  virtuous  than  those  in  monogamous  homes. 
If  Brocchus  used  these  words — and  it  seems  certain 


«22  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

that  they  do  not  greatly  misrepresent  him — he  had  no 
right  to  be  surprised  at  the  hisses  of  his  audience. 
But  the  bad  taste  of  Brocchus'  remarks  was  quite  over- 
shadowed by  the  violence  of  Brigham's  reply.  "  Are 
you  a  judge,"  he  roared  at  Brocchus,  "  and  can't  even 
talk  like  a  lawyer  or  a  politician,  and  haven't  read  an 
American  school  history?  Be  ashamed,  you  illiterate 
ranter,  not  to  know  your  Washington  better  than  to 
praise  him  for  being  a  mere  brutal  warrior.  George 
Washington  was  called  first  in  war;  but  he  was  first 
in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen. 
.  .  .  Of  course  he  could  fight.  But  Lord!  what  man 
can't?  ...  I  can  handle  a  sword  as  well  as  George 
Washington.  I  would  be  ashamed  to  say  I  couldn't. 
But  you,  standing  there,  white  and  shaking  now  at  the 
hornet's  nest  you  have  stirred  up  yourself — you  are 
a  coward,  and  that  is  why  you  have  cause  to  praise 
men  that  are  not  (cowards),  and  why  you  praise  old 
Zachary  Taylor.  ...  If  you  or  any  one  else  is  such 
a  baby-calf,  we  must  sugar  your  soap  to  coax  you 
to  wash  yourself  Saturday  nights!  Go  home  to 
your  mammy  straight  away,  and  the  sooner  the 
better!" 

The  literature  of  abuse  will  be  searched  a  long 
time  for  a  mate  to  this  tirade,  especially  when  we 
bear  in  mind  that  it  was  said  in  a  church  assemblage 
by  the  governor  of  the  territory  to  his  fellow  ap- 
pointee, as  associate  justice  of  the  same  common- 
wealth. A  correspondence  followed  between  the  two 
men,  marked  by  a  stubborn  boldness,  which  one  can- 
not help  but  admire,  on  Brocchus'  part;  and  by  in- 
tentional gasconading  on  Brigham's.  Brocchus  in  a 
private  letter  expressed  doubts  of  ever  coming  out  of 
the  Salt  Lake  valley  alive.    There  was  better  ground  for 


BRIGHAM  YOUNG  ABOUT  1865 


THE  STATE  OF  «  DESERET  "  S23 

his  apprehensions  than  he  realized;  but  on  September 
28,  185 1 — only  three  weeks  after  the  conference  ad- 
dress— Brocchus  and  his  two  fellow  Gentile  territorial 
officers  left  for  Washington.  They  took  with  them 
$24,000  which  Congress  had  appropriated  for  the  pay 
and  mileage  of  the  Utah  legislature. 


XXIII 
POLYGAMY  UNVEILS  ITSELF 

THE  "  runaway  officials/'  as  the  Mormons 
love  to  style  Judge  Brocchus  and  his  asso- 
ciates, found  cold  comfort  awaiting  them  at 
Washington.  The  Mormon  version  of  the  story  was 
ahead  of  them.  Colonel  Kane,  with  his  invaluable 
and  unblushing  partisanship,  had  been  called  to  the 
aid  of  his  distressed  friends,  or  co-religionists;  and 
the  retreating  officials  were  not  of  a  calibre  to  cope 
with  his  smooth  falsehoods.  Their  report  of  the  des- 
potism they  found  in  the  distant  valley  was  no  less 
incredible  for  being  true.  They  laboured  besides  under 
the  odium  of  having  quit  the  fight;  and  there  are  no 
people  more  unthinkingly,  instinctively  intolerant  of 
failure,  or  retreat,  than  those  of  America.  After  a 
season  of  unprofitable  discussion,  the  three  Gentile 
officers  received  a  curt  order  to  resume  their  posts  or 
resign.  They  wisely  chose  the  latter  alternative,  and 
others  were  appointed  to  their  place. 

It  is  plain  from  the  letter  he  wrote  to  President 
Fillmore  that  Young  was  very  uneasy  over  the  situa- 
tion for  a  time.  Doubtless  he  wished  he  had  been  less 
violent  in  denouncing  Brocchus — ^but  having  taken  the 
plunge,  it  was  not  in  his  nature  to  draw  back.  He 
soon  saw  that  drawing  back  was  needless.  Fate  had 
given  him  the  inestimable  advantage  of  an  unearned 
victory  in  the  first  clash  between  the  new  kingdom  of 
the  Saints  and  the  government  of  the  United  States; 

224 


POLYGAMY  UNVEILS  ITSELF  225 

and  Brigham  made  the  most  of  it.  In  the  remotest 
hamlet  where  two  or  three  Latter  Day  Saints  were 
gathered  together  was  told  the  story  of  how  Brigham, 
"  The  Lion  of  the  Lord,"  had  defied  the  power  of  the 
United  States,  and  driven  an  unjust  judge  from  Zion. 
When  real  peril  approached,  a  few  years  later,  the 
memory  of  this  initial  triumph  was  an  inspiration  to 
Mormon  courage  and  endurance. 

The  new  judges  and  secretary  were  not  appointed 
until  August,  1852.  They  served  without  any  fric- 
tion with  the  Mormon  population,  and  two  of  them 
died  in  office.  By  an  odd  coincidence,  the  month  of 
their  appointment  was  likewise  the  month  when  the 
doctrine  most  closely  identified  with  Mormonism  in 
the  public  mind  was  proclaimed  to  the  world. 

We  have  seen  that  Mormon  polygamy  began  in 
clandestine  fashion  in  the  early  days  at  Nauvoo — if 
indeed  it  did  not  date  from  Kirtland.  Joseph  Smith 
first  taught  the  doctrine  to  a  select  few  of  his  follow- 
ers; then  growing  bolder,  he  issued  his  revelation 
establishing  polygamy  as  the  crown  and  capstone  of 
his  marriage  system.  As  noted  before,  that  revela- 
tion bears  witness  that  Joseph  had  anticipated  precept 
by  performance;  he  had  taken  plural  wives  before 
writing  down  the  heavenly  mandate  authorizing  him 
to  do  so.  Verse  fifty-two  of  that  revelation  reads: 
"  And  let  mine  handmaid,  Emma  Smith,  receive  all 
those  THAT  HAVE  BEEN  GIVEN  unto  my  serv- 
ant Joseph."  This  phrase  could  be  used  only  to  refer 
to  polygamous  marriages  already  accomplished. 

How  large  a  harem  Joseph  collected  before  his 
death  is  uncertain;  but  six  of  his  widows  were  after- 
wards married  to  Brigham  Young  alone.  The  mur- 
der of  Joseph  was  a  direct  result,  in  part,  of  his  ef- 


^6  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

forts  to  secure  as  his  "  spiritual  wives  "  women  who 
were  already  married  to  members  of  his  church.  Be- 
fore his  death,  polygamy  had  become  so  ingrained  in 
Mormon  faith  and  practice  that  of  the  four  branches 
into  which  the  church  divided  after  that  catastrophe, 
three  believed  and  exemplified  the  doctrine  of  plural 
marriage. 

The  "  Reorganized  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Lat- 
ter Day  Saints,"  with  headquarters  in  Missouri,  alone 
has  always  maintained  that  Joseph  Smith  had  nothing 
to  do  with  polygamy,  and  has  laid  the  blame  for  the 
doctrine  on  other  persons,  particularly  on  Brigham 
Young.  This  piece  of  religious  casuistry  is  too  absurd 
to  call  for  extended  refutation;  but  though  Brigham 
did  not  invent  polygamy,  he  was  an  early  and  en- 
thusiastic convert  to  it.  He  had  five  or  six  wives 
at  the  time  of  Joseph's  death.  He  had  sixteen  or 
seventeen  at  the  expulsion  from  Nauvoo;  and  per- 
haps twenty  at  the  first  settlement  of  the  Salt  Lake 
valley.  The  faithful  had  followed  his  example.  In 
1852,  probably  there  was  not  an  Apostle  whose  death 
would  not  have  widowed  from  six  to  twenty  good 
women.  The  most  casual  visitor  to  Salt  Lake  knew 
of  polygamy.  Yet  officially  the  doctrine  and  practice 
remained  a  secret;  and  multifariously  married  mis- 
sionaries did  not  scruple  to  declare,  with  uplifted 
hands  and  tearful  voices,  that  the  charge  of  polygamy 
was  a  base  and  cruel  slander  on  the  Lord's  long- 
suffering  Saints. 

In  1852,  however,  Brigham  determined  on  a  change 
of  policy.  He  saw  that  the  pretence  of  secrecy  had 
become  too  threadbare  to  be  worth  mending.  On 
August  29,  1852,  Orson  Pratt  ascended  the  pulpit  at 
a  conference,  and  formally  proclaimed  the  gospel  of 


POLYGAMY  UNVEILS  ITSELF  227 

plural  marriage.  Apparently,  Brigham  had  consulted 
no  one  in  deciding  on  the  new  course,  for  Pratt  de- 
clared that  the  order  to  speak  on  this  subject  came 
to  him  as  a  surprise.  The  revelation  given  to  Joseph 
the  Seer  at  Nauvoo  was  read  and  expounded,  the  Mor- 
mon doctrine  of  marriage,  with  polygamy  as  its 
crowning  feature,  was  uncovered  to  the  world.  It 
has  had  at  least  a  due  share  of  the  world's  attention 
ever  since. 

The  new  proclamation  caused  little  surprise  among 
the  faithful,  and  aroused  no  resistance.  It  was  merely 
a  public  announcement  of  a  well-known  fact.  Persons 
who  could  be  driven  from  the  church  by  this  doctrine 
were  already  gone.  During  the  regime  of  real  and 
pretended  secrecy,  polygamy  had  so  permeated  Mor- 
mon society  that  then,  as  now,  there  was  no  way  in 
which  that  society,  by  its  own  strength,  could  rid  it- 
self of  the  custom. 

It  must  not  be  thought  from  this  remark  that  the 
Mormon  church-state  of  1852  had  any  wish  to  be 
rid  of  polygamy.  The  church  accepted  the  doctrine 
of  plural  marriage,  not  merely  with  submission,  but 
with  enthusiasm.  The  whole  body  of  Mormon  the- 
ology had  been  shaped  to  converge  on  this  point  with 
a  force  which  only  flat  disbelief  could  resist.  To  re- 
cur once  more  to  a  point  which  cannot  be  over- 
emphasized, Mormonism  is  ancestor  worship.  Ac- 
cording to  that  gospel,  each  person  owes  reverence 
and  obedience  to  his  progenitors,  and  is  entitled  to 
exact  the  same  from  his  descendants.  Each  man  is 
a  god  unto  the  fruit  of  his  loins;  and  the  number  of 
his  offspring  is  the  measure  of  his  godship.  Brig- 
ham  once  declared  that  the  only  God  whom  mankind 
need   worship,    or   consider,    was   their   first    father, 


2S8  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Adam.  This  bold  statement  startled  even  the  faith- 
ful, and  has  been  allowed  to  sink  into  the  background; 
but  it  remains  the  just  and  logical  summing  up  of 
Mormon  theology. 

The  effect  of  such  a  doctrine,  actively  believed,  is 
to  make  every  ambitious  man  a  potential  polygamist. 
The  appeal  to  women  is  less  direct,  but  quite  as  ef- 
fective. Women,  in  the  Mormon  scheme,  can  be 
saved  without  marriage — ^but  it  is  a  salvation  scarcely 
worth  having.  To  be  exalted,  to  reach  any  worthy 
degree  in  the  Grand  Lodge  which  forms  the  Mormon 
ideal  of  heaven,  a  woman  must  be  a  wife  and  mother. 
She  shines  by  the  reflected  light  of  her  husband.  If 
he  has  but  one  wife  and  a  paltry  half-dozen  offspring, 
his  radiance  is  dull,  he  is  a  hopeless  plebeian  in  the 
next  world,  and  his  wife  shares  his  humble  estate. 
But  if  he  be  a  polygamist,  a  man  w^ith  many  wives 
and  swarming  children,  he  becomes  an  aristocrat  of 
the  heavens,  and  his  wives  partake  of  his  exaltation. 

Nor  is  the  religious  appeal  of  polygamy  confined 
to  selfish  grounds.  It  speaks  with  the  voice  of  phi- 
lanthropy. The  Mormons  believe  that  countless  spirits 
are  eagerly  waiting  to  take  upon  themselves  a  taber- 
nacle of  flesh.  They  have  risen  in  the  chain  of  exist- 
ence until  they  have  come  to  the  plane  of  physical 
life.  They  can  go  no  farther  in  the  celestial  progres- 
sion till  they  pass  the  portals  of  earthly  birth  and 
death.  They  are  willing  to  accept  illegitimacy,  dis- 
ease, or  the  stigma  of  an  inferior  race,  rather  than 
not  to  be  born  at  all.  Polygamy,  according  to  the 
doctrine  as  preached  to  the  Saints,  is  a  sanctified 
method  for  the  emergence  of  these  imprisoned  spirits 
into  the  life  of  this  world.  Viewed  in  the  light  of 
this  faith,  marriage  with  a  polygamist  seemed  a  re- 


POLYGAMY  UNVEILS  ITSELF  ^29 

ligious  duty  to  thousands  of  Mormon  women;  and 
from  the  days  of  Nauvoo  till  now,  there  has  been  an 
ever-sufficient  supply  of  women  ready  to  sacrifice 
themselves  on  the  altar  of  plural  marriage. 

The  doctrine  did  not  confine  itself  to  religious  argu- 
ments. It  has  a  whisper  as  well  for  the  world  and 
the  flesh.  Polygamy,  like  despotism,  represents  the 
unrestrained  working  of  a  single  impulse  or  desire; 
just  as  monogamy  and  democracy  are  the  result  of  a 
council  of  emotions  and  wills.  In  the  Mormon  king- 
dom, as  in  older  polygamous  lands,  social  stratification 
came  to  the  aid  of  plural  marriage.  As  a  rule,  the 
polygamous  families  were  the  wealthy  and  highly 
placed  families;  and  the  prestige  of  their  social  posi- 
tion was  transferred  to  their  habits  of  marriage.  And 
finally,  there  was  the  singularity  of  the  doctrine,  and 
the  price  that  even  then  had  been  paid  for  it.  The 
Lord's  chosen  were  already  marked  off  from  the  Gen- 
tiles, not  only  in  faith,  but  in  works. 

Plural  marriage  in  the  Mormon  kingdom  never 
reached  the  sordid  plane  of  barter  and  sale  which  pre- 
vails in  most  polygamous  parts  of  the  Old  World. 
Generally  speaking,  the  polygamist  woos  his  many 
wives  in  much  the  same  manner  that  the  more  modest 
lover  woos  one.  The  Apostle  has  the  advantage  that 
comes  from  experience,  and  he  is  able  to  bring  religious 
considerations  to  support  his  courting;  but  the  essen- 
tials of  the  process  are  usually  much  the  same.  From 
the  beginning,  however.  Mormon  parents  have  had 
more  to  say  about  the  marriage  of  their  children — 
especially  about  the  marriage  of  their  girls — ^than 
parents  in  any  other  English-speaking  community. 

There  were  many  instances  in  which  the  first  wife 
said  to  the  husband :  "  If  your  going  into  polygamy 


«S0  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

is  essential  to  our  exaltation,  I  consent,  provided  I 
may  choose  the  other  wife."  This  was  rather  a  com- 
mon occurrence,  and  usually  the  husband  accepted  the 
proposition.  Wives  then  would  propose  to  women  for 
their  husbands.  While  this  was  not  the  rule,  it  oc- 
curred frequently  enough  to  be  a  large  factor  in  the 
workings  of  polygamy.  It  was  a  common  practice, 
too,  for  a  man  to  marry  two  or  even  three  sisters,  on 
the  ground  that  they  would  be  less  likely  to  quarrel 
than  women  from  different  families.  Some  doughty 
elders,  like  Dionysius  of  Syracuse,  did  not  hesitate 
to  be  married  to  two  wives  at  the  same  time.  Besides 
being  something  of  a  test  of  self-confidence,  this  like- 
wise was  a  measure  of  peace,  because  neither  could 
claim  precedence  as  the  first  wife. 

The  women  involved  in  polygamy  nearly  always 
became  its  staunchest  defenders.  They  had  accepted 
it  as  a  divine  doctrine;  and  only  by  maintaining  it  as 
such  could  they  justify  their  choice.  In  a  few  cases, 
doubt  or  despair  caused  women  to  break  away  from 
the  relation,  but  only  in  those  marriages  where  a  child 
was  yet  lacking.  When  children  came,  the  mother*s 
honour  in  the  eyes  of  her  offspring  depended  on  the 
truth  and  divinity  of  the  doctrine  of  polygamy;  and 
she  had  no  choice  but  to  uphold  it  as  the  first  and 
most  excellent  law  of  God.  For  the  same  reason, 
the  plural  wife,  though  secretly  hating  the  practice, 
was  often  driven  into  giving  her  daughter  to  be  the 
polygamous  mate  of  an  elder  or  Apostle.  That 
daughter  had  been  born  of  a  plural  marriage.  Either 
the  system  was  holy  or  the  birth  was  illegitimate. 
There  were  few  women  brave  enough  to  meet  the 
issue  when  presented  in  this  form. 

When  the  Manifesto  of  1890  was  issued,  forbid- 


POLYGAMY  UNVEILS  ITSELF  231 

ding  further  practice  of  polygamy,  it  was  the  Mormon 
women  who  were  most  pained  and  most  resentful. 
But  here  and  there  was  one  who  saw  deeper,  beyond 
the  temporary  disrupting  of  home  ties  to  the  peace 
and  confidence  that  lay  ahead.  One  Apostle,  whose 
first  wife  was  of  this  calibre,  asked  her  what  she 
thought  of  it.    Her  answer  was : 

"  Well,  Edward,  I've  always  thought  that  sometime 
God  would  get  as  tired  of  polygamy  as  I  am ! '' 

That  woman  was  an  exception,  however.  Even 
now,  when  plural  marriage  has  been  renewed  under 
circumstances  of  secrecy  and  deceit  that  would  ruin 
the  most  righteous  institution.  Mormon  women  resent 
the  faintest  challenge  of  polygamous  faith  or  practice; 
and  they  would  perjure  themselves  before  courts  and 
investigating  committees  to  clear  their  husbands,  even 
at  the  cost  of  bastardizing  their  children. 

There  are  still  other  ways  of  managing  a  polyg- 
amous courtship.  Men  employed  as  teachers  in  co- 
educational schools  found  their  position  singularly 
helpful  in  collecting  wives;  and  this  is  as  true  now 
as  in  the  days  of  Brigham.  Men  belonging  to  what 
may  be  called  the  burgher  class  went  about  the  matter 
in  a  more  economical  manner  but  quite  as  effective 
fashion.  They  strove  to  pick  out  good-looking  im- 
migrant girls  for  servants.  If  the  young  woman 
were  docile  and  industrious  as  well  as  pleasing  in  ap- 
pearance, she  soon  graduated  from  the  rank  of  house- 
maid or  dairymaid  to  that  of  wife.  Her  duties  might 
not  be  lightened,  but  her  dignity  and  standing  in  the 
community  were  increased;  and  if  she  "bore  my 
lord  "  a  goodly  company  of  sons,  she  might  become 
his  favourite  spouse.  Indeed,  so  openly  was  immi- 
gration used  as  a  feeder  for  polygamy  that  Heber  C. 


ftS^  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Kimball,  in  an  address  to  departing  missionaries 
August  28,  1852 — the  day  before  the  public  announce- 
ment of  polygamy — ^used  these  words : 

"You  are  sent  out  as  shepherds  to  gather  sheep  to- 
gether; and  remember  that  they  are  not  your  sheep;  they 
belong  to  Him  that  sends  you.  Then  do  not  make  a 
choice  of  any  of  those  sheep ;  do  not  make  any  selections 
before  they  are  brought  home  and  put  in  the  fold.  You 
understand  that. 

Amen!" 

The  life  of  the  average  plural  wife  was  not  the 
desolate,  woe-begone  existence  which  zealots  and  ro- 
mancers have  pictured  it.  The  standards  of  affection 
were  necessarily  lower  than  in  monogamy;  but  among 
the  wealthier  classes,  at  least,  standards  of  marital 
comfort  and  consideration  were  high.  Each  wife  of 
one  of  the  church  dukes  usually  had  her  separate 
establishment,  to  which  she  owned  legal  as  well  as 
moral  title.  This,  no  doubt,  was  a  concession  due  to 
the  influence  of  a  monogamous  ancestry;  it  is  quite 
different  from  the  serfdom  of  women  which  prevails 
in  most  polygamous  countries.  Rivalry  among  the 
plural  wives  was  usually  generous.  Each  was  anxious 
that  her  children  should  be  at  least  equal  in  attain- 
ments and  advantages  to  the  children  of  any  other 
spouse,  but  the  family  bond  was  strong.  The  chil- 
dren of  one  wife  called  each  other  wife  of  their 
father,  "  Aunt  "  or  "  Aunty."  If  the  only  son  were 
called  on  a  mission,  one  of  his  half-brothers  would 
assume  the  absent  one's  duties.  For  many  years,  one 
of  Brigham's  wives  acted  as  schoolmistress  for  all 
the  children  of  the  family. 


POLYGAMY  UNVEILS  ITSELF  233 

In  a  polygamous  society  where  child-bearing  was 
a  duty,  it  was  inevitable  that  later  wives  should  be 
younger  than  the  first  wife,  and  that  the  younger 
should  supersede  the  elder.  When  a  wife  of  one  of 
the  polygamous  dukes  passed  her  child-bearing  days, 
she  graduated  into  a  sort  of  dowager  duchess.  She 
was  her  husband's  friend,  adviser,  counsellor.  Her 
influence  over  him  might  be  greater  than  that  of  any 
younger  charmer,  but  he  lived  in  conjugal  relations 
with  those  who  still  might  bring  him  children,  and  the 
spouse  of  his  own  age  was  a  wife  in  name,  rather 
than  in  fact. 

This  inevitably  led  to  heartburnings  and  jealousy. 
Even  in  families  of  the  highest  type,  presided  over 
by  men  of  uncommon  kindliness,  justice,  and  dignity, 
the  inevitable  tendency  of  the  younger  wife  to  crowd 
out  the  elder  caused  a  world  of  trouble.  Brigham's 
skill  in  the  management  of  his  household  was  pro- 
verbial; yet  on  one  occasion  he  publicly  served  notice 
that  his  wives  and  those  of  the  Apostles  had  until  a 
given  date  to  stop  their  quarrelling  and  end  their 
jealousies;  and  that,  failing  submission  to  duty  on 
their  part,  he  would  divorce  them  all.  With  men  of 
coarser  type,  these  evils  were  multiplied.  Polygamy 
showed  at  its  worst  in  families  of  ignorant,  ambitious 
imitators  of  the  church  aristocracy;  men  who  lacked 
the  financial  ability  to  support  a  polygamous  house- 
hold, and  the  moral  character  to  fit  them  for  marriage 
of  any  sort.  Under  such  a  husband,  a  polygamous 
home  was  hell.  Coarseness  of  speech  and  act,  bru- 
tality, tyranny,  and  privation  formed  the  life  of  more 
than  one  family;  while  the  loutish  lord  and  master 
encouraged  jealousy  among  his  female  chattels  as  a 
means  of  insuring  his  own  supremacy.     Yet  even  in 


2S4  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

homes  like  this,  the  paternal  despotism  of  the  church 
was  a  partial  check  on  cruelty.  Tyranny  seldom  took 
the  form  of  physical  violence,  and  wife-murder  was 
practically  unknown. 

In  polygamy,  as  everywhere,  p^ersonal  character 
made  its  way.  Strange  as  it  may  seem  to  those  who 
think  of  all  polygamous  husbands  as  ogres  and  all 
polygamous  wives  as  patient  Griseldas,  there  was  more 
than  one  compound  household  in  the  Mormon  king- 
dom whose  real  ruler  was  a  woman.  It  was  uncom- 
mon, to  be  sure;  but  it  was  not  unknown.  An  amus- 
ing incident  illustrating  this  point  may  be  cited  here. 
One  of  the  prominent  women  of  the  church,  whose 
husband  had  been  dead  for  several  years,  said  to  some 
of  her  visiting  relatives : 

"  I'll  not  stay  here  much  longer.  John  has  been 
over  on  the  other  side  quite  a  while,  now,  with  a  dozen 
of  his  wives  that  went  before  him — and  I  think  it's 
about  time  I  went  over,  too,  and  took  charge  of 
things!" 

She  went  not  long  after;  and  if  affairs  on  the 
"  other  side  "  may  be  judged  from  occurrences  on  this, 
she  "took  charge,"  gently  but  completely. 

The  conscientious  polygamous  husband  soon  found 
that  the  celestial  system  imposed  duties  as  well  as  con- 
ferred rights.  Polygamy  gratified  the  common  mas- 
culine desire  to  be  head  of  a  clan,  and  ministered  to 
that  yet  more  universal  feeling  which  Swedenborg 
calls  the  "  lust  of  varieties."  But  this  last  was  sharply 
circumscribed.  The  average  polygamist  of  the  old 
days,  at  least  was  a  continent  man.  Each  wife  was 
supposed  to  be  free  from  the  conjugal  embrace  during 
pregnancy,  and  in  some  cases  during  the  nursing 
period  as  well.    His  multiplication  of  wives  gave  the 


POLYGAMY  UNVEILS  ITSELF  235 

polygamist  no  license  outside  of  the  marriage  relation. 
One  man  well  up  in  the  councils  of  the  church  was 
sent  as  a  missionary  to  England.  He  spent  several 
years  there  in  successful  proselyting  before  returning 
to  Utah.  Twenty  years  afterward,  a  woman  convert 
came  from  England  who,  in  a  burst  of  confessional 
zeal  at  receiving  her  endowments,  told  that  this  former 
missionary  had  seduced  her.  The  man  was  deprived 
of  all  his  dignities,  was  visited  with  the  severest 
humiliation,  was  excommunicated,  and  only  read- 
mitted in  time  to  die  in  the  bosom  of  the  church. 

This  is  an  extreme  case;  and  very  likely  the  author- 
ities had  some  other  reason  than  outraged  virtue  which 
impelled  them  to  inflict  so  drastic  a  punishment  for  so 
old  an  offence.  But  it  may  be  said  at  once  that 
adultery  was  regarded  as  a  serious  offence  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Mormon  kingdom — indeed,  it  is  so  re- 
garded there  now.  Probably  there  was  and  is  more 
of  it  than  would  be  found  in  a  monogamous  society 
under  similar  control  and  discipline  and  in  a  similar 
state  of  industrial  development.  There  was  far  less 
than  is  found  in  the  alleged  monogamic  society  of 
many  large  cities.  Except  during  the  outburst  of 
fanaticism  known  as  the  "  reformation,"  Mormon 
husbands  seldom  seemed  to  apprehend  unfaithfulness 
on  the  part  of  their  wives,  and  in  the  enormous  ma- 
jority of  cases,  their  confidence  was  justified.  Dur- 
ing the  first  murder  trial  in  Utah,  Apostle  George  A. 
Smith,  counsel  for  the  defence,  announced  as  an  "  un- 
written law  "  of  Mormon  society  that  the  man  who 
seduced  his  neighbour's  wife  must  die,  and  her  near- 
est relative  must  kill  him.  That  savage  code  has  not 
often  been  invoked  by  those  whose  Apostle  laid  it 
down. 


236  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Brigham  doubtless  was  the  most  married  man  of 
his  little  empire;  but  no  one  at  this  day  can  say  with 
certainty  how  many  wives  Brigham  had.  Probably 
he  could  not  have  told  himself.  There  were  women 
sealed  to  him  for  time  and  eternity,  with  whom  he 
sustained  marital  relations.  These  numbered  about 
twenty-five.  There  were  other  women  sealed  to  him 
for  eternity,  some  of  whom  he  had  never  seen.  Still 
others  were  sealed  to  him  for  time,  and  to  some  de- 
parted great  one  of  history  for  a  celestial  spouse.  All 
were  in  some  sense  his  wives;  and  according  to  the 
interpretation  that  was  uppermost  in  his  mind  for  the 
moment,  he  might  answer  with  no  intent  to  deceive 
that  he  had  twenty  wives,  or  a  hundred. 

Brigham  insisted  on  three  qualifications  in  his 
favoured  lieutenants :  obedience,  energy,  and  plurality 
of  wives.  With  two  or  three  exceptions,  Brigham 
never  raised  a  man  to  favour  who  was  not  a  polyg- 
amist.  The  reason  for  this  preference,  especially  in 
the  later  days  of  his  rule,  is  not  far  to  seek.  Once 
a  man  was  entrapped  in  polygamy,  he  had  to  be  loyal 
to  the  Mormon  kingdom,  for  there  alone  could  he 
find  countenance  and  protection  from  the  vengeance 
of  the  Gentiles.  This  is  one  of  the  policies  of  Brig- 
ham which  has  endured  unchanged  to  the  present  day. 
The  haphazard  zealot  speaks  of  polygamy  as  an  insti- 
tution which  enslaves  women.  The  student  of  Mor- 
monism  knows  polygamy  to-day  chiefly  as  a  device 
for  the  enslavement  of  men. 


XXIV 
STUDY  OF  POLYGAMY 

POLYGAMY  traverses  the  customs  and  ideals  of 
all  European  peoples  for  at  least  twenty-five 
centuries.  It  is  associated  in  the  public  mind 
with  sensuous  Orientalism,  or  with  that  transplanted 
Orientalism  which  rears  its  defiant  head  in  America. 
It  shocks  the  moral  sense  of  millions.  It  has  been  de- 
nounced as  a  relic  of  barbarism,  as  legalized  sensu- 
ality, as  the  enslavement  of  a  sex.  Yet  it  keeps  on 
its  clandestine  way,  defying  or  evading  law  and  pub- 
lic sentiment,  celebrating  its  forbidden  banns  under 
the  very  noses  of  judges  and  in  the  shadow  of  ortho- 
dox churches.  Probably  there  are  more  plural  wives 
in  the  Mormon  kingdom  to-day  than  at  any  previous 
time  in  its  history. 

A  doctrine  which  has  proved  immune  to  society's 
cursing  is  at  least  worthy  of  society's  study.  That 
study  must  take  no  account  of  prejudice,  habit,  or 
sentiment.  Good  and  bad  are  terms  used  to  distin- 
guish that  which  helps  from  that  which  hinders  the 
progress  of  the  human  race.  All  codes,  all  customs 
must  be  tried  at  last  by  this  standard;  and  polygamy 
is  no  exception.  If  it  can  show  itself  helpful  to  man- 
kind, polygamy  will  make  its  way  despite  laws  and 
anathemas.  And  unless  an  unprejudiced  examina- 
tion shows  that  polygamy  tends  to  lower  the  standards 
and  retard  the  progress  of  humanity,  any  objection 
to  it  is  open  to  the  suspicion  of  ignorance  or  preju- 

237 


^38  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

dice,  and  any  effort  to  suppress  it  will  be  branded  as 
religious  persecution. 

Mormon  apologists  for  polygamy  claim  for  it  four 
points  of  superiority  over  monogamy.     These  are: 

That  polygamy  tends  to  a  more  rapid  increase  of 
population. 

That  polygamy  gives  the  only  chance  of  wife- 
hood and  honourable  motherhood  to  millions  of 
women. 

That  polygamy  prevents  prostitution. 

That  polygamy  secures  better  safeguards  for 
mother  and  child  during  pregnancy  and  the  nursing 
period. 

The  claim  that  polygamy  tends  to  a  more  rapid  in- 
crease of  population  than  monogamy  is  disproved  by 
the  most  casual  acquaintance  with  history.  Without 
exception,  countries  which  have  shown  a  great  and 
steady  growth  of  population  for  long  periods  are 
monogamous  countries.  Monogamous  Europe  has 
distanced  North  Africa  and  western  Asia.  Monog- 
amous China  is  more  populous  and  more  stable  in  its 
numbers  than  partially  polygamous  India.  Monog- 
amous Japan — the  exceptions  to  monogamy  in  the 
Island  Empire  are  hardly  worth  mentioning — has  been 
increasing  in  numbers  while  polygamous  Turkey  and 
Persia  have  declined.  These  differences  cannot  be 
laid  to  the  superior  civilization  of  countries  where 
population  is  mounting,  and  if  they  could,  the  asso- 
ciation of  a  higher  type  of  civilization  with  monog- 
amous marriage  would  be  sufficient. 

Only  once  in  the  world's  history  has  there  been  a 
great  and  rapid  increase  of  polygamous  peoples,  as 
compared  to  those  practising  monogamy.  This  was 
when  the  Saracens  came  out  of  their  deserts  to  con- 


STUDY  OF  POLYGAMY  239 

quer  and  people  the  world.  Even  in  this  case,  the 
shifting  balance  was  due  to  conquest,  rather  than  to 
growth.  The  women  of  Syria,  Egypt,  and  northern 
Africa  were  swept  by  hundreds  of  thousands  into  the 
harems  of  the  conquerors,  and  their  children  were 
accounted  Arabs  and  Moslems.  In  this  case,  polyg- 
amy combined  with  successful  war  to  change  the  blood, 
language,  and  religion  of  vast  regions.  It  exalted 
Islam,  and  depressed  Christendom.  But  there  is 
nothing  to  show  that  it  added  a  single  member  to  the 
total  population  of  the  world. 

Turning  from  the  study  of  nations  to  that  of  in- 
dividual cases,  it  is  easy  to  see  the  fallacy  in  this  first 
of  Mormon  claims  for  plural  marriage.  The  man  of 
many  wives  has  more  children  than  the  man  of  one 
wife.  But  as  a  shrewd  observer  noted  long  ago,  the 
increase  of  population  depends  on  mothers;  and  the 
average  plural  wife  bears  fewer  children  than  her 
monogamous  sister.  Brigham  Young  was  a  man  of 
amazing  vigour.  His  wives  were  fine  examples  of 
physical  womanhood.  A  biography  authorized  by  his 
eldest  son  and  by  several  of  his  widows  credits  him 
with  twenty-five  wives.  The  list  is  incomplete;  but 
it  will  do  for  the  purpose  of  this  inquiry.  Eleven  of 
those  twenty-five  women  were  childless.  Six  of  them 
bore  one  child  each.  One  had  two  children,  one  had 
three,  and  the  remaining  six  had  four  or  more  chil- 
dren apiece.  All  told,  the  twenty-five  wives  had  only 
forty-four  children.  In  a  simple,  healthy  society, 
where  child-bearing  was  reckoned  the  first  of  duties, 
is  it  thinkable  that  as  many  wives,  each  with  a  sep- 
arate husband,  would  have  borne  so  few  children? 

Similar  households  records  are  familiar  to  every 
student  of  Eastern  history.     Mohammed  had  eleven 


«40  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

wives,  and  his  line  is  extinct.  Rameses  Second  was 
perhaps  the  most  married  monarch  of  ancient  times. 
The  census  of  his  palace  is  not  very  authentic,  but  it 
seems  certain  that  he  had  more  wives  than  children. 
Theoretically,  the  procreative  powers  of  a  healthy 
man  seem  almost  limitless;  practically,  masculine 
fertility  is  not  very  remarkable.  Here  and  there  is  a 
shining  exception.  Augustus  the  Strong  had  365 
children  by  no  one  knows  how  many  mistresses.  John 
D.  Lee,  whom  we  shall  meet  again  at  Mountain  Mead- 
ows, had  sixty- four  children  by  eighteen  wives,  and 
fifty-four  of  his  offspring  were  living  at  the  time  of 
his  execution.  Joseph  F.  Smith,  present  head  of  the 
church,  is  more  economical  of  potential  motherhood 
than  almost  any  other  polygamist  on  record;  he  has 
forty-three  children  by  six  wives.  But  in  practically 
every  case,  it  may  be  predicted  that  the  woman  who 
becomes  a  plural  wife  will  bear  fewer  children  than 
she  would  bear  in  monogamy. 

The  claim  that  polygamy  is  necessary  to  give  every 
woman  her  undoubted  right  to  honourable  motherhood 
might  be  urged  with  some  show  of  reason  in  England 
or  Scandinavia.  Put  forward  in  America,  it  is  laugh- 
able. The  census  of  1910  showed  2,692,288  more 
males  than  females  in  the  population  of  the  United 
States — and  20,375  i^iore  males  than  females  in  Utah, 
the  heart  of  the  Mormon  empire.  In  the  nation  at 
large,  there  are  106  males  to  every  hundred  females. 
In  Utah,  there  were  11 1.5  males  to  every  hundred 
females.  If  such  a  census  indicates  any  change  in 
our  present  form  of  marriage,  that  change  points  to 
polyandry,  rather  than  to  polygamy.      * 

It  has  been  said  that  the  excess  of  males  in  this 
country  is  due  to  immigration,  and  also  that  there  is 


STUDY  OF  POLYGAMY  241 

no  such  excess  among  persons  of  marriageable  age. 
The  first  of  these  statements  is  only  half  true;  the 
second  is  not  true  at  all.  Detailed  figures  from  the 
census  of  1910  are  not  available  at  this  writing;  but 
in  1900,  among  the  native  whites  of  native  parents 
in  the  United  States,  there  were  322,579  more  men 
than  women  between  the  ages  of  20  and  45  years. 

In  point  of  fact,  in  all  countries  occupied  by  white 
men,  there  is  a  considerable  excess  of  male  children 
at  birth.  In  England,  104.5  t)oys  are  born  to  every 
100  girls.  In  France,  the  proportion  is  105.5  to  100; 
in  Germany,  about  106  to  100;  and  in  Roumania,  it 
rises  to  109  to  100.  In  all  countries,  to  be  sure,  the 
death-rate  of  males  is  higher  than  that  of  females;  and 
this  fact,  coupled  with  war,  colonization,  and  emigra- 
tion, has  left  a  very  slight  excess  of  females  over  males 
in  most  European  countries.  If  this  excess  became 
very  marked,  polygamy  might  perhaps  be  adopted  as  a 
temporary  expedient,  as  seems  to  have  been  the  case 
in  Germany  following  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  But 
the  present  disparity  between  the  sexes  is  too  slight 
to  warrant  any  proposal  of  change  in  marriage  cus- 
toms. It  would  cost  less  money  and  effort,  to  put  the 
matter  on  no  more  debatable  ground,  to  provide  for 
an  assisted  emigration  of  women  to  lands  where  men 
are  in  the  majority. 

The  claim  that  polygamy  prevents  prostitution  is 
a  typical  case  of  reasoning  from  isolated  facts.  There 
was  no  prostitution  in  Utah  before  the  "  Winter  Mor- 
mon "  and  the  Gentile  traveller  came  to  the  Happy 
Valley;  and  Utah  was  polygamous.  Neithler  was 
there  any  prostitution  in  the  Boer  republics  until  the 
countrymen  of  Cecil  Rhodes  introduced  it,  along  with 
Other  evidences  of  progress;  and  the  Boers  were  and 


242  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

are  monogamous.  A  simple,  undifferentiated  society, 
where  there  is  little  luxury  and  little  want,  and  where 
every  one  in  the  neighbourhood  knows  every  one  else, 
seldom  or  never  produces  or  supports  any  consider- 
able extent  of  prostitution.  Such  societies  often  have 
a  high  percentage  of  illegitimate  births,  but  they  are 
free  from  commercialized  vice. 

It  should  be  added  that  the  polygamous  elders  of 
Utah  thought  it  necessary  to  permit  the  introduction 
of  prostitution  as  a  means  of  safeguarding  their  mul- 
tiplied households  from  invading  Gentiles. 

Finally  we  come  to  the  claim  that  polygamy  guards 
the  rights  and  person  of  the  pregnant  and  nursing 
mother,  and  thus  produces  a  better  offspring  than  can 
be  expected  of  monogamy.  Whatever  advantages 
there  may  be  in  abstinence  from  conjugal  relations 
during  this  period  undoubtedly  were  secured  to  three 
generations  of  Mormon  children  born  in  polygamy. 
But  it  is  not  yet  apparent  that  children  thus  "  safe- 
guarded "  before  their  birth  outstrip  in  either  health 
or  intelligence  the  offspring  of  monogamous  mar- 
riages. Besides,  the  same  rule  of  abstinence  has  been 
enforced  among  countless  peoples  where  polygamy 
did  not  prevail;  and  can  be  secured  anywhere  by  edu- 
cation, if  the  theory  back  of  the  rule  is  provably 
sound.  In  spite  of  certain  eloquent  reformers  and 
zealous  missionaries,  few  men  are  satyrs. 

At  the  risk  of  interrupting  the  logical  order  of  this 
discussion,  we  would  point  out  here  that  monogamy 
has  at  least  one  valuable  advantage.  It  gives  a  wife 
the  undivided  care  of  her  husband  when  she  needs  it 
most.  The  first  experience  in  maternity  is  a  beauti- 
ful, a  sacred,  but  usually  an  anxious  time  for  a 
woman.     The  nervous  disturbances  of  her  state  are 


STUDY  OF  POLYGAMY  243 

considerable;  and  are  magnified  by  the  brooding  mind 
of  the  expectant  mother.  Then,  if  ever,  she  needs 
the  loving  attention  of  a  stronger  and  untroubled 
mate.  We  believe  there  are  few  men  of  experience 
who  will  say  that  their  care  would  have  been  suffi- 
cient if  divided  among  a  dozen  or  more  wives. 

The  superior  virtues  claimed  for  polygamy  by  its 
loudest  champions  do  not  exist.  Even  this  brief  and 
we  believe  unbiassed  examination  has  sufficed  to  dis- 
pose of  them  all.  But  the  zealot  is  not  always  the 
wisest  advocate;  and  polygamy  may  have  virtues 
which  Mormon  missionaries  have  failed  to  appreciate. 
Casting  about  for  such  overlooked  blessings,  we  may 
ask  whether  polygamy  would  not  be  a  help  to  natural 
selection,  or  to  that  substitute  for  natural  selection 
known  as  eugenics. 

Eugenics,  as  its  foremost  advocate  has  pointed  out, 
proceeds  by  two  methods,  the  negative  and  the  posi- 
tive. Negative  eugenics  seeks  merely  to  prevent  the 
marriage  of  the  unfit.  There  is  no  evidence  to  show 
that  the  number  of  men  unfit  to  be  fathers  is  greater 
than  the  number  of  women  unfit  to  be  mothers; 
though  the  causes  of  unfitness  may  differ  in  the  two 
sexes.  Unless  it  can  be  shown  that  men  show  a  far 
higher  percentage  of  unfitness  for  parenthood  than 
women,  there  is  nothing  in  the  theory  of  negative 
eugenics  to  suggest  a  change  in  the  present  marriage 
customs. 

Positive  eugenics  seeks  to  encourage  marriage  and 
child-bearing  among  the  fit.  If  the  breeding  and  rear- 
ing of  a  child  were  as  simple  a  matter  as  the  breeding 
and  rearing  of  a  colt,  polygamy  would  score  at  once. 
But  it  is  not  so  simple.  How  would  the  proper  sires 
of  the  next  generation  be  selected?    Who  would  com- 


244  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

pel  the  marriageable  hoi  polloi  who  showed  no  de- 
terring taint  to  stand  back  and  give  the  supermen 
supreme  charge  of  propagation?  The  moment  one 
descends  from  theory  to  practice,  one  perceives  the 
absurdity  of  expecting  to  organize  any  system  of 
polygamy  as  a  means  of  improving  the  human  race. 

One  thing  somewhat  allied  to  improving  the  race 
polygamy  can  do  and  has  done.  It  is  a  potent  aid  to 
assimilating  a  whole  population  to  the  ideals,  lan- 
guage, and  in  part  to  the  race  of  the  master  caste. 
The  Arab  conquest  already  cited  is  a  case  in  point; 
and  the  settlement  of  Utah  is  another.  A  little  clique 
of  American  sires  dominated  the  entire  mass  of  im- 
migrants; and  to-day,  the  names  of  those  men  are 
the  names  of  the  master  clans  of  Utah. 

But  is  this  power  of  polygamy  one  which  society 
needs  in  the  ordinary  and  usual  course  of  events;  the 
common  course  for  which  laws  and  customs  are 
shaped?  Manifestly  not.  The  public  school  is  far 
cheaper  and  less  disruptive  of  present  ideals  than 
polygamy;  but  the  public  school  has  done  marvels  in 
assimilating  immigrants.  We  may  say  with  little  fear 
of  contradiction  that  no  country  should  tolerate  the 
coming  of  immigrants  who  need  to  be  crossed  with  the 
native  stock  to  make  good  citizens.  As  for  the  help 
of  polygamy  in  assimilating  a  conquered  people,  mod- 
em sociology  does  not  look  with  much  favour  on 
violent  conquests,  or  on  crosses  between  sharply  di- 
vergent races.  The  one  case  where  polygamy  was 
used  on  a  large  scale  in  this  way  brought  a  higher 
people  down  to  the  standards  of  a  lower.  Arab  civili- 
zation in  Syria  and  North  Africa  to-day  is  lower  than 
the  Byzantine  civilization  of  more  than  twelve  cen- 
turies ago. 


STUDY  OF  POLYGAMY  245 

After  so  earnest  and  vain  a  search  for  good  things 
to  say  about  polygamy,  it  is  surely  fair  to  set  forth  a 
few  criticisms.    This  is  a  terribly  easy  thing  to  do. 

Polygamy  tends  to  subordinate  one  sex  to  another. 
This  has  been  its  effect  in  all  lands  where  it  has  en- 
dured for  any  considerable  length  of  time — as  time 
is  counted  in  history;  and  this  will  be  its  effect  wher- 
ever it  comes.  Equality  between  the  sexes  is  im- 
possible when  one  man  is  deemed  a  sufficient  mate 
for  six,  ten,  or  thirty  women.  Mormon  polygamy 
had  the  splendid  advantage  of  a  clean  start  among 
American  people,  where  respect  for  women  is  perhaps 
higher  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world;  yet  even 
among  the  Mormons,  the  tendency  of  the  system  to 
exalt  one  sex  and  depress  the  other  was  plain.  Heber 
C.  Kimball  used  often  to  refer  to  his  wives  as  his 
"  cows."  Horace  Greeley  states  that  he  never  heard 
a  Mormon  church  dignitary  quote  the  opinion  of  his 
wife  on  any  subject.  The  sermons  in  the  Journal  of 
Discourses  are  filled  with  scolding  advice  to  women 
to  modify  their  love  for  ornament,  to  busy  themselves 
in  domestic  industries,  to  be  more  economical  in  the 
household.  It  seemed  as  if  any  man  were  thought 
qualified  to  lecture  any  woman  on  any  subject. 

As  polygamy  depresses  the  standing  of  women,  so 
does  it  tend  to  prevent  cordial  companionship  and  deep 
affection  between  the  sexes.  An  incident  which  oc- 
curred when  Mormon  polygamy  was  at  its  best  will 
illustrate  this  better  than  any  amount  of  argument. 
A  family  party  was  given  at  the  country-place  of  an 
Apostle  who  shall  be  called  Jones.  There  was  present 
at  this  party  another  elder  who  may  be  known  as 
Smith,  who  seemed  to  be  enjoying  himself  as  much 
as  any  one  there.     During  general  conversation,  the 


246  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

fact  was  casually  mentioned  that  one  of  Elder  Smith's 
wives  had  died  the  day  before,  and  was  to  be  buried 
the  next  day.  A  monogamous  Mormon  present  in 
the  company  flamed  up  in  wrath  at  Smith's  presence 
under  such  circumstances;  but  Mrs.  Jones  interposed. 
"  Never  mind,"  she  said  with  sarcasm  that  quite 
passed  over  the  head  of  the  offending  elder.  "  When 
a  man  has  so  many  wives,  he  could  not  be  expected 
to  let  the  death  of  one  of  them  distract  his  attention 
from  anything  so  important  as  a  party !  " 

It  is  needless  to  dwell  at  length  on  further  objec- 
tions to  polygamy,  but  a  few  may  be  cited  in  passing. 
It  tends  to  cause  too  early  marriage,  especially  of 
girls.  Heber  C.  Kimball,  gave  it  as  his  august  de- 
cision that  girls  should  be  married  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen and  boys  at  least  by  the  time  they  were  fifteen 
years  old.  Polygamy  tends  to  the  production  of 
strong  family  clans,  whose  ambitions  and  quarrels  are 
dangerous  to  the  state.  It  tends  to  give  an  undue 
proportion  of  the  women  of  a  community  in  marriage 
to  elderly  men,  and  to  men  whose  abilities  are  chiefly 
of  a  financial  order.  Plural  marriage  is  an  expensive 
luxury  for  any  civilized  husband;  and  men  who  have 
had  time  to  accumulate  a  store  of  this  world's  goods, 
or  who  have  a  money-making  disposition,  will  be  much 
more  likely  to  acquire  a  well-filled  harem  than  the 
gallant  youngsters  whose  adventurous  idealism  might 
be  so  much  more  valuable  to  the  world. 

In  this  case,  at  least,  the  verdict  of  science  coincides 
with  the  verdict  of  instinct.  Polygamy  is  exactly 
what  it  was  named  in  a  political  catch-phrase  fifty 
years  ago.  It  is  a  relic  of  barbarism,  or,  at  least,  of 
a  lower  order  of  civilization.  In  the  Mormon  king- 
dom, polygamy  is  linked  with  a  yet  more  vicious  and 


STUDY  OF  POLYGAMY  247 

barbaric  thing,  the  despotic  rule  of  a  political  priest- 
hood. If  a  plural  marriage  were  good  in  itself — 
which  it  is  not — its  alliance  with  theocracy  would  con- 
demn it. 

The  harem  is  no  more  foreign  to  American  ideals  of 
home  than  a  prophet  in  politics  is  to  American  ideals 
of  liberty. 


XXV 
THE  KING  CAN  ADMIT  NO  WRONG 

FOR  a  season  after  the  adventure  of  the  run- 
away officials  and  the  open  proclamation  of 
polygamy,  there  was  peace  in  Brigham's  king- 
dom. The  new  judges  were  careful  not  to  collide 
with  his  imperial  will,  and  took  no  notice  of  the  now- 
avowed  practice  of  plural  marriage.  On  his  side, 
Brigham  was  at  some  pains  to  be  cordial — and  no 
man  could  be  more  so  when  it  suited  his  purpose. 
He  took  no  pains  whatever  to  conceal  his  mastership 
of  Utah,  and  his  intent  to  remain  master.  In  a  ser- 
mon June  19,  1853,  he  said:  "  I  am  and  will  be  gov- 
ernor, and  no  power  can  hinder  it,  until  the  Lord 
Almighty  says :  '  Brigham,  you  need  not  be  governor 
any  longer.'  " 

In  a  frontier  community,  however,  peace  seldom 
lasts  long  enough  to  be  monotonous;  but  the  inter- 
ruption did  not  come  from  the  defied  and  outraged 
federal  authority.  It  came  from  a  quarter  where 
Brigham  had  a  right  to  look  for  quiet.  He  had  pur- 
sued a  more  uniformly  conciliatory  policy  toward  the 
Indians  than  any  frontier  governor  since  the  days  of 
William  Penn;  he  was  never  tired  of  repeating  that 
it  is  cheaper  to  feed  Indians  than  to  fight  them.  But 
nothing  could  reconcile  the  Indians  to  the  loss  of  their 
scanty  oases  in  the  central  deserts  and  the  rapid  de- 
struction of  game  at  the  hands  of  white  hunters;  and 
not  even  Brigham's  despotism  could  make  all  of  his 

248 


THE  KING  CAN  ADMIT  NO  WRONG    249 

followers  as  careful  of  Indian  feelings  as  himself.  In 
July,  1853,  some  Mormon  settlers  interfered  to  stop 
an  Indian's  beating  of  his  squaw;  and  with  an  ardent 
humanity  characteristic  of  a  certain  class  of  reform- 
ers, they  inflicted  fatal  injuries  on  the  Indian.  The 
brave  thus  cut  off  in  his  sins  was  a  Ute  belonging  to 
the  band  of  Chief  Walker,  who  was  already  on  bad 
terms  with  the  whites,  and  hostilities  followed  with 
deadly  promptness.  Walker's  band  took  up  arms, 
harried  the  settlers  of  southern  Utah,  killed  some 
twenty  persons,  drove  away  cattle,  burned  houses, 
destroyed  crops,  and  otherwise  enjoyed  themselves. 
In  actual  fighting,  they  had  all  the  best  of  it — a  re- 
sult not  uncommon  in  border  wars,  though  one  care- 
fully concealed  by  most  histories.  But  the  commis- 
sariat of  the  red  men  was  by  no  means  equal  to  their 
strategy.  By  the  next  spring,  most  of  them  were 
ready  to  quit.  Brigham  had  kept  the  olive  branch 
extended  all  through  the  trouble,  and  in  May,  1854, 
secured  a  meeting  with  Chief  Walker  which  ended 
hostilities. 

Like  Mark  Tapley,  the  ecclesiastical  government  of 
the  Mormon  kingdom  came  out  strong  in  time  of 
trouble.  At  a  council  of  bishops  in  August,  1853, 
it  was  decided  to  enclose  Salt  Lake  City  with  a  wall, 
like  Zion  of  old.  The  work  was  begun  but  never 
finished,  the  generous  scale  on  which  the  city  was 
planned  making  a  wall  impossible  to  Mormon  re- 
sources. The  church  conference  in  October  of  the 
same  year  took  a  more  important  decision,  and  or- 
dered forth  colonizing  parties  to  strengthen  the  settle- 
ments most  exposed  to  Indian  attack.  The  church 
historian's  account  of  this  measure  is  well  worth  quot- 
ing: 


«60  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

"During  the  Mormon  conference  at  Salt  Lake  City, 
men  and  families  were  called  to  strengthen  the  settle- 
ments north,  south  and  east  of  Salt  Lake  Valley.  Among 
those  sent  on  these  missions  were  George  A.  Smith  and 
Erastus  Snow,  with  fifty  families  to  Iron  county;  Wil- 
ford  Woodruff  and  Ezra  T.  Benson  with  fifty  families 
to  Tooele  Valley,  and  Lyman  Stevens  and  Reuben  W. 
Allred  with  fifty  families  for  each  of  the  Sanpete  settle- 
ments. Lorenzo  Snow  was  directed  to  select  another 
fifty  and  go  with  them  to  Box  Elder  county,  and  Joseph 
L.  Heywood  was  to  lead  an  equal  number  to  Juab  county. 
Orson  Hyde  was  given  a  mission  to  raise  a  company  and 
found  a  new  settlement  on  Green  River."  (Whitney, 
"  History  of  Utah,"  Vol.  I,  page  529.) 

According  to  this  record,  three  hundred  families 
left  their  homes  to  reinforce  distant  settlements,  not 
because  they  wanted  to  go,  but  because  the  church — 
that  is  to  say,  Brigham  Young — ordered  them  to  go. 
This  despotic  control  excites  no  surprise  in  the  breast 
of  the  church  historian,  and  stirs  his  ever  dribbly  pen 
to  no  comment.  Like  the  colonists  themselves,  the 
church  writer  accepts  it  as  part  of  the  natural  order 
of  the  universe  that  a  good  Mormon  should  go  wher- 
ever he  is  sent  by  his  ecclesiastical  superiors. 

During  the  war  with  the  Walker  Utes,  an  emeute 
occurred  among  the  Pauvantes.  Captain  J.  W.  Gunni- 
son of  the  United  States  Army  was  in  Utah  at  that 
time,  exploring  a  route  for  a  transcontinental  railroad. 
On  the  morning  of  October  26,  1853,  Gunnison  and 
his  party  were  attacked  in  their  camp  on  the  Sevier 
river,  and  eight  of  the  twelve,  including  Gunnison 
himself,  were  killed. 

This   incident   belongs  in   a   history   of   Brigham 


THE  KING  CAN  ADMIT  NO  WRONG    251 

Young,  only  because  he  has  been  accused  of  instigat- 
ing the  massacre.  The  present  writers  have  given 
proof  of  their  readiness  to  hold  Brigham  to  account 
for  his  sins;  but  we  cannot  find  a  shred  of  evidence 
to  connect  him  with  the  murder  of  Gunnison.  All 
probabilities  point  the  other  way.  Brigham  had  no 
reason  to  wish  for  Gunnison's  death,  and  many  rea- 
sons to  wish  him  alive.  The  Saints  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  Zion  would  grow  faster  with  the  help 
of  a  railroad;  and  Gunnison  was  seeking  out  a  route 
for  a  railroad.  He  had  always  been  on  good  terms 
with  the  Mormons,  and  Brigham  had  troubles  enough 
without  looking  for  war  with  the  United  States.  We 
have  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  Brigham  wholly 
innocent  of  this  crime. 

Yet  it  is  easy  to  see  how  the  charge  came  to  be 
made.  Brigham's  anxiety  to  be  on  good  terms  with 
the  Indians  was  itself  a  suspicious  circumstance  to 
jaundiced  eyes.  Also,  while  he  collected  as  much  as 
possible  of  Gunnison's  effects  from  the  Indians,  he 
made  no  immediate  effort  to  punish  the  murderers; 
and  some  who  were  finally  brought  to  trial  escaped 
with  petty  sentences.  The  explanation  is  that  Brig- 
ham did  not  punish  Indian  murderers  of  his  own  peo- 
ple, when  to  do  so  would  have  precipitated  or  con- 
tinued a  racial  war.  Rightly  or  wrongly,  he  took  the 
view  that  the  Indian  was  a  dangerous  but  easily  man- 
aged child,  a  creature  whom  no  one  should  hold 
strictly  responsible,  and  from  whom  no  white  man 
should  take  offence.  Dignity,  as  the  term  is  used  by 
war  lords  and  their  admirers,  did  not  interest  Brigham 
when  he  was  engaged  with  Indian  affairs.  Perhaps 
Brigham  was  moved  to  this  policy  by  a  desire  to  enlist 
Indian  help  in  case  of  a  quarrel  with  the  federal  gov- 


«6«  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

ernment;  more  likely  it  sprung  from  his  abhorrence 
of  wasted  effort,  and  his  half -contemptuous,  half -phil- 
anthropic feeling  for  the  Indians  themselves.  In 
either  case,  his  handling  of  the  Gunnison  affair  was  a 
piece  of  his  whole  Indian  policy. 

Early  in  1855,  Brigham  was  reappointed  territorial 
governor  of  Utah;  not,  however,  until  President 
Pierce  had  tried  to  secure  a  Gentile  for  that  position. 
In  December,  1854,  the  president  offered  the  place  to 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Steptoe,  then  in  Salt  Lake  City 
on  his  way  to  California  with  a  detachment  of  about 
two  hundred  soldiers.  Colonel  Steptoe  declined  the 
offer  and  signed  a  petition  asking  that  Brigham  be 
confirmed  in  his  position  for  another  term.  For  an 
army  officer  sojourning  a  few  months  in  a  given  spot 
to  take  part  in  territorial  politics  is  almost  as  uncom- 
mon as  for  a  good  American  to  refuse  an  office. 
There  is  a  circumstantial  story  to  account  for  this 
double  strangeness.  According  to  this  story.  Colonel 
Steptoe  wished  to  accept  the  governorship;  but  Brig- 
ham laid  a  trap,  caught  the  gallant  colonel  in  a  com- 
promising position  with  a  couple  of  ladies,  and  soon 
convinced  him  that  ruling  Utah  was  no  job  for  an 
amorous  soldier.  In  the  nature  of  things,  such  a  story 
is  incapable  of  exact  proof.  But  it  was  believed  by 
most  well-informed  persons  in  Utah  at  that  time,  and 
has  been  handed  down  since  as  a  characteristic  tale 
of  the  "  Lion  of  the  Lord."  Our  personal  judgment  is 
that,  in  essentials,  the  story  is  true. 

All  this  time  the  Mormon  kingdom  was  growing; 
more  slowly,  indeed,  than  Brigham  and  his  counsellors 
had  hoped;  but  more  rapidly  than  they  had  any  right 
to  expect.  Part  of  the  increase  came  from  the  natural 
surplus  of  births  over  deaths.    In  a  community  with 


THE  KING  CAN  ADMIT  NO  WRONG    25S 

an  unusual  proportion  of  young  and  middle-aged  per- 
sons, all  of  whom  believed  that  the  way  to  magnify 
their  glory  in  heaven  was  to  multiply  their  offspring 
on  earth,  this  surplus  was  large.  Part  consisted  of 
converts  from  the  eastern  and  southern  states.  But 
mostly  the  new  blocks  in  Zion's  wall  were  brought 
from  Europe,  and  especially  from  Great  Britain — the 
quarry  opened  by  Brigham  himself,  when  he  went 
forth  from  Nauvoo. 

It  is  the  fashion  of  Gentile  writers  to  sneer  at  the 
Mormon  converts  as  belonging  to  the  "  lower  classes." 
So  they  did.  So  did  a  certain  group  of  fishermen 
collected  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Tiberias  nineteen  cen- 
turies ago.  The  slur  has  this  much  of  justice,  that 
few  persons  of  education,  few  persons  even  who  had 
what  may  be  called  the  educational  habit  of  mind, 
were  gathered  in  by  the  zealous  missionaries  of  the 
Mormon  Zion.  But  neither  did  these  missionaries 
appeal  to  paupers,  criminals,  or  ne'er-do-wells.  They 
wanted  sturdy  farmers,  skilled  mechanics,  faithful 
labourers — and  these  they  secured;  and  with  them, 
occasionally  a  family  or  an  individual  of  high  worldly 
standard.  Charles  Dickens,  who  visited  a  shipload 
of  Mormon  emigrants  on  the  eve  of  their  departure, 
pronounced  them  the  cream  of  England,  of  their  class. 
With  all  due  allowance  for  Dickens's  tendency  to  ex- 
aggerate, this  is  high  praise.  The  success  of  the 
British  mission  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  from 
1849  to  1855,  inclusive,  16,537  persons  sailed  from 
Liverpool  to  join  the  Saints.  About  one  thousand  of 
this  number  were  Scandinavians  and  Germans  who 
came  by  way  of  England. 

The  method  of  handling  the  emigrants  was  excel- 
lent throughout.     They  were  sent  in  solid  cargoes. 


264  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

instead  of  being  shipped  indiscriminately  with  other 
passengers  for  the  New  World.  The  Mormon  agent 
at  Liverpool  would  wait  until  assured  of  a  load  of 
Saints  and  then  charter  a  ship  for  them.  On  board, 
the  passengers  were  under  the  care — and  likewise 
under  the  control— of  two  or  three  church  dignitaries 
who  had  crossed  the  ocean  before,  and  who  main- 
tained order  and  stimulated  religious  enthusiasm.  If 
the  passengers  came  by  way  of  New  Orleans,  another 
experienced  man  attended  to  getting  their  river  trans- 
portation; and  usually,  teams  and  supplies  were  en- 
gaged for  them  at  the  point  where  their  journey  across 
the  plains  began. 

Nor  did  this  care  cease  when  they  reached  their 
destination.  Instead  of  being  allowed  to  huddle  in 
Salt  Lake  City  and  shift  for  themselves  as  best  they 
could,  the  newly  arrived  Saints  were  taken  in  hand 
at  once.  When  word  came  that  a  band  of  immigrants 
was  expected,  the  Mormon  leaders  came  to  Emigra- 
tion Square,  or  the  Tithing  Yard,  to  do  their  part  in 
distributing  the  new  arrivals  where  they  would  do 
themselves  and  the  community  most  good.  Work  was 
found  for  all;  and  nearly  all  were  helped  to  become 
landholders.  The  precise  nature  of  land  allotments 
varied  from  time  to  time,  but  the  insistence  on  land- 
owning was  almost  religious  in  its  intensity. 

Without  doubt,  some  of  the  new  arrivals  were  un- 
justly treated;  and  in  such  case,  the  poorest  ones  suf- 
fered most,  as  is  the  unfortunate  rule  of  the  ages. 
Those  indebted  to  the  Perpetual  Emigration  Fund 
were  required  to  pay  back  their  obligations  as  soon 
as  possible;  either  in  cash  or — more  commonly — in 
labour.  Wages  paid  these  new  immigrants  were  not 
always  up  to  the  standard  of  the  new  land.     Polyg- 


THE  KING  CAN  ADMIT  NO  WRONG    ^55 

amous  elders,  of  course,  haunted  the  arriving  immi- 
grant trains,  looking  for  likely  spouses.  But  from 
1852,  onward,  there  was  at  least  no  deceit  in  the  mat- 
ter, and  no  one  came  from  Europe  to  Salt  Lake  City 
without  having  some  notion  that  he  or  she  was  turn- 
ing from  a  monogamous  country  to  one  where  plural 
marriage  was  customary.  Polygamy  does  not  square 
with  our  ideals ;  and  peonage,  even  in  its  mildest  form, 
is  an  abhorrent  thing;  but  truth  compels  the  state- 
ment that,  with  one  conspicuous  exception,  Mormon 
emigrants  were  watched  more  carefully  en  route,  and 
established  in  their  new  surroundings  at  far  less  cost 
to  themselves  than  is  the  case  with  immigrants  arriv- 
ing at  Ellis  Island  to-day. 

That  exception  came  at  the  close  of  the  year  1856, 
a  year  filled  with  hardships  and  calamities.  Grass- 
hoppers had  inflicted  much  damage  on  the  crops  in 
1854,  and  in  1855,  there  was  almost  complete  crop 
failure.  To  make  matters  worse,  winter  set  in  early 
and  hard  that  year,  with  unusually  deep  snows,  bury- 
ing the  pasturage,  and  starving  the  cattle.  Lulled  to 
security  by  several  good  harvests,  the  Mormons  had 
disregarded  Brigham's  repeated  warnings  and  had  laid 
up  little  store  against  disaster.  Now,  disaster  was  at 
hand,  and  the  absence  of  railway  communication  put 
the  whole  settlement  face  to  face  with  famine. 

In  this  emergency,  as  always  in  times  of  bitter  trial, 
the  half -military  and  wholly  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tion of  Mormonism  showed  at  its  best.  Some  little 
grain  was  on  hand  in  the  tithing-house,  and  Brigham 
and  a  few  of  his  Apostles  had  well-filled  bins.  They 
shared  their  store  with  the  community.  Such  as  had 
money  were  required  to  pay  for  their  supplies;  but 
those  who  had  no  money  did  not  starve.     A  letter 


256  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

from  Heber  Kimball  to  his  son  in  England  gives  a 
picture  of  the  situation: 

"  I  have  been  under  the  necessity  of  rationing  my  fam- 
ily, and  also  yours,  to  two-thirds  of  a  pound  of  bread- 
stuff per  day  each;  as  the  last  week  is  up  to-day,  we 
shall  commence  on  half  a  pound  each.  Brother  Brigham 
told  me  to-day  that  he  had  put  his  family  on  half  a  pound 
each.  We  do  this  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  hundreds 
that  have  none. 

"  My  family  at  this  time  consists  of  about  one  hundred 
souls,  and  I  suppose  I  feed  about  as  many  as  one  hundred 
besides.  ...  I  had  about  seven  thousand  bushels  of 
wheat,  and  it  is  now  reduced  to  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  bushels.  .  .  .  Heber  has  been  to  the  mill 
to-day,  and  has  brought  some  unbolted  flour  .  .  .  We 
have  some  meat,  and  perhaps  seventy  bushels  of  potatoes, 
also  a  very  few  beets  and  carrots,  so  you  can  judge 
whether  or  not  we  can  get  through  till  harvest  without 
digging  roots." 

With  a  community  in  these  straits,  it  was  obviously 
impossible  to  carry  out  the  church's  plan  of  immigra- 
tion on  the  scale  and  in  the  manner  desired.  Neither 
could  Brigham  bring  himself  to  stop  immigration  for 
a  year,  and  wait  until  the  settlement  was  in  better 
shape.  As  a  compromise  measure,  he  wrote  that  he 
was  "  thrown  back  upon  my  old  plan  "  of  providing 
hand-carts  and  letting  the  immigrants  walk  across  the 
plains  from  the  outfitting  point  in  Iowa  to  Salt  Lake 
City. 

The  mere  mention  of  such  a  march  would  halt  any 
purely  economic  emigration,  always  excepting  one  that 
was  headed  for  a  gold-field.    But  it  did  not  stop  the 


THE  KING  CAN  ADMIT  NO  WRONG    ^5*7 

gathering  of  the  British  Saints  to  their  mountain 
Zion.  On  the  contrary,  it  offered  a  chance  to  some  of 
the  poorer  but  thrifty  converts,  who  did  not  wish  to 
obligate  themselves  to  the  Perpetual  Emigration  Fund. 
Nearly  two  thousand  persons  sailed  from  England, 
prepared  to  undertake  a  tramp  of  twelve  hundred 
miles,  pushing  their  supplies  before  them  on  hand- 
carts. 

Iowa  City  was  then  the  outfitting  point  for  Mor- 
mon emigration  across  the  plains;  and  trouble  began 
at  the  very  start.  The  hand-carts  were  not  ready. 
The  delay  thus  caused  made  little  difference  to  the 
earlier  companies,  but  it  counted  terribly  to  those  who 
came  later.  When  the  carts  were  ready,  they  were 
made  of  green  timber,  and  kept  breaking  down  on  the 
journey. 

The  first  two  companies  left  Iowa  City  on  the  9th 
and  nth  of  June,  1856,  and  arrived  at  Florence,  the 
old  Winter  Quarters,  July  17.  Both  at  Iowa  City 
and  Florence  they  were  warned  not  to  go  on;  but  in 
spite  of  these  discouragements,  they  persisted,  and 
reached  Salt  Lake  City  September  26.  They  were 
met  in  Emigration  caiion  by  a  band  and  a  military 
company,  escorting  the  church  dignitaries,  and  con- 
ducted into  the  city  like  conquering  heroes.  On 
October  2,  the  third  company  arrived,  which  had  left 
Iowa  City  June  23.  These  bands  had  experienced 
little  suffering  though  much  hardship,  and  the  hand- 
cart route  to  Zion  seemed  a  success. 

Two  other  companies,  however,  were  still  on  the 
way,  and  winter  was  closing  in.  The  foremost  of 
these,  commanded  by  James  G.  Willie,  had  left  Iowa 
City  July  15  and  did  not  reach  Florence  until  August 
II.    After  a  week  to  refit,  Willie  started  on  August 


«58  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

1 8,  in  spite  of  repeated  warnings  that  winter  would 
catch  him  on  the  mountain  passes.  Still  later, 
August  22,  the  last  company,  under  command  of 
Edward  Martin,  arrived  at  Florence,  and,  after  a 
briefer  stay,  straggled  westward  from  the  25th  to 
the  27th. 

The  march  of  these  last  companies  was  a  long- 
drawn  tragedy.  At  first,  their  troubles  were  the 
minor  ones  of  hard  work  and  short  rations.  Willie's 
company  allowed  ten  ounces  of  flour  per  day  per 
adult,  and  four  ounces  to  children  under  eight  years, 
in  the  march  from  Iowa  City  to  Florence.  In  addi- 
tion there  was  an  irregular  distribution  of  tiny 
quantities  of  rice  and  bacon.  When  they  left  Florence, 
this  ration  was  at  first  increased  to  a  pound  of  flour 
per  day  per  adult,  with  a  corresponding  increase  for 
the  children ;  but  other  troubles  were  not  long  in  show- 
ing themselves.  The  carts  were  made  with  wooden 
hubs,  which  the  dry  dust  and  sand  of  the  farther 
prairies  cut  and  roughened.  No  axle  grease  had  been 
provided,  and  part  of  the  precious  bacon  had  to  be 
used  to  grease  the  wheels.  One  wagon  to  draw 
heavier  supplies  was  allotted  to  each  hundred  persons; 
but  a  stampede  cost  the  company  many  of  their  oxen, 
and  each  cart  had  to  be  loaded  with  a  ninety-eight 
pound  sack  of  flour.  When  they  reached  the  higher 
altitudes,  winter  was  close  at  hand.  Wading  icy 
streams  on  the  march  by  day  and  sleeping  with  in- 
sufficient shelter  at  night,  the  underfed  cart  pullers 
began  to  droop — and  then  to  die.  The  Sweetwater 
took  toll  of  them  as  in  som.e  form  it  had  taken  toll 
of  nearly  every  Mormon  party;  and  at  last  it  came 
to  be  thought  a  strange  thing  if  they  left  a  camping- 
place  without  stopping  to  bury  one  of  their  number. 


THE  KING  CAN  ADMIT  NO  WRONG    259 

There  was  no  lack  of  devotion  and  courage.  "  Many 
a  father,"  says  one  of  the  men  who  made  that  march, 
*'  pulled  his  cart  with  his  little  children  upon  it  until 
the  day  before  his  death."  But  neither  courage  nor 
religious  zeal  can  long  take  the  place  of  food. 

At  last,  just  when  their  condition  was  desperate, 
came  help.  Some  returning  missionaries  had  passed 
them  on  the  way,  and  carried  word  of  their  plight  to 
Salt  Lake  City.  Seeing  that  the  situation  was  serious 
— though  little  guessing  how  serious — Brigham  sent 
a  party  post-haste  with  provisions  and  blankets  to 
meet  the  hand-carts.  Encountering  a  storm,  and  not 
realizing  the  desperate  need  of  the  emigrants,  the  re- 
lief party  camped  to  await  better  weather.  There  it 
was  found  by  Captain  Willie.  His  starving  company 
were  too  weak  to  pull  a  cart,  and  he  had  left  them  in 
camp  and  come  on  in  search  of  help.  The  relief  party 
pushed  on  at  once  through  the  storm.  Had  it  been 
delayed  much  longer,  few  of  that  hand-cart  migration 
would  have  been  found  alive. 

Four  hundred  persons  set  out  from  Florence  with 
Captain  Willie  for  this  march  across  the  plains.  Of 
these,  sixty-seven  died  en  route,  and  several  others 
died  after  reaching  Salt  Lake  City.  Martin's  com- 
pany, following  still  later,  fared  even  worse,  though 
reliable  figures  for  losses  of  this  party  are  lacking. 
Even  after  relief  reached  them,  both  parties  had  a 
long  and  bitter  journey,  a  journey  that  the  coddled 
traveller  to-day  would  shudder  to  think  of.  Willie's 
company  reached  Salt  Lake  City  November  9,  1856. 
Martin's  people  were  straggling  in  through  the  snow 
till  the  middle  of  December.  On  the  26th  of  Novem- 
ber, in  the  camp  in  Echo  Caiion,  one  of  the  women  in 
Martin's  company  gave  birth  to  a  child.     In  spite  of 


260  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

the  frightful  hardships  of  the  preceding  month,  both 
mother  and  child  survived. 

It  was  characteristic  of  Brigham  to  take  prompt 
measures  for  relieving  the  distressed  immigrants.  We 
regret  to  add  that  it  was  also  characteristic  of  him  to 
take  equally  prompt  measures  to  relieve  himself  of 
blame  for  the  disaster.  Perhaps  we  should  say  that 
it  was  characteristic  of  his  position;  the  king — espe- 
cially if  he  be  a  priest-king — can  acknowledge  no 
wrong.  Every  wise  prince  provides  himself  with  a 
stock  of  scapegoats,  and  Brigham  was  no  exception. 
In  this  case,  he  picked  out  Franklin  D.  Richards,  the 
Apostle  in  charge  of  the  British  mission  at  the  time 
the  hand-cart  emigrants  set  sail,  and  blamed  Richards 
for  letting  them  start  too  late. 

Brigham's  course  in  this  respect  was  bitterly  unjust. 
He  and  no  other  devised  the  hand-cart  project;  he  and 
no  other  must  bear  the  blame  of  its  partial  but  terribly 
costly  failure.  In  spite  of  his  experience,  he  under- 
rated all  the  difficulties  of  such  an  emigration,  and 
neglected  to  make  proper  provision  even  for  the  diffi- 
culties which  he  recognized.  Frederick  the  Great  ran 
away  from  Mollwitz;  Lincoln  put  seven  useless 
"  heres  **  into  his  matchless  Gettysburg  address ;  and 
Brigham  would  have  been  better  advised  to  join 
genius  in  making  blunders  rather  than  to  join  medioc- 
rity in  disavowing  them. 


XXVI 
BLOOD  ATONEMENT 

THE  year  1856  was  a  bad  period  for  the  ma- 
terial interests  of  the  Mormon  kingdom.  It 
was  yet  more  disastrous  in  a  moral  sense;  for 
1856-57  saw  the  culmination  of  a  rising  tide  of  fanat- 
icism that  long  had  been  creeping  on  the  land;  a  tide 
that  at  its  flood  submerged  not  only  reason  but 
common  sense  and  common  humanity.  The  stains 
of  that  flood  are  on  the  walls  of  Zion,  even  unto  this 
day. 

All  theocracies,  all  governments  managed  by  eccle- 
siastical authority,  have  two  unfailing  characteristics. 
They  seek  to  make  the  legal  code  co-extensive  with  the 
moral  code;  that  is  to  say,  they  draw  no  distinction 
between  deeds  which  the  fashion  of  their  time  and 
place  regards  as  sins,  and  other  deeds  which  the  world 
for  ages  has  agreed  to  regard  as  crimes.  Next,  how- 
ever tolerant  they  may  be  of  the  opinions  of  neigh- 
bours and  visitors,  they  consider  heresy  among  their 
own  people  the  most  dangerous  of  offences.  This, 
indeed,  is  inevitable.  Rebellion  is  something  which  no 
government  can  countenance ;  and  when  a  government 
is  directly  ordained  and  established  by  God,  heresy 
and  rebellion  become  interchangeable  terms.  Jedediah 
Grant  was  not  an  educated  man  nor  a  thoughtful  one ; 
but  his  unblushing,  unhesitating  fanaticism  gripped 
this  truth  at  once,  and  in  a  discourse  in  the  Tabernacle 
he  declared: 

261 


262  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

"  I  wish  we  were  in  a  situation  favourable  to  our  doing 
that  which  is  justifiable  before  God,  without  any  con- 
taminating influence  of  Gentile  amalgamation,  laws,  and 
traditions,  that  the  people  of  God  might  lay  the  ax  to  the 
root  of  the  tree,  and  every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth 
good  fruit  might  be  hewn  down.  .  .  .  Putting  to  death 
the  transgressor  would  exhibit  the  law  of  God,  no 
matter  by  whom  it  was  done." 

The  start  of  the  movement  in  the  Mormon 
kingdom  known  as  the  "  reformation  "  was  innocent 
enough.  It  began  as  an  effort  on  the  part  of  Brigham 
and  his  aids  to  check  license  and  tighten  the  bands  of 
discipline.  As  the  cheapest,  easiest,  most  direct,  and 
likewise  most  humane  method  at  hand,  Brigham  began 
his  hectoring  sermons,  lashing  the  brethren  with  the 
rough  edge  of  his  tongue,  jawing  Zion  into  order.  He 
had  a  natural  tendency  to  that  sort  of  eloquence,  and 
it  grew  by  exercise.  Had  he  been  among  his  equals, 
had  he  even  been  subject  to  the  restraints  of  neigh- 
bouring Gentiles,  he  would  have  bridled  his  too  effusive 
tongue,  and  tamed  it  to  civilized  discourse.  Living 
in  a  little  world  of  his  own,  a  world  in  which  he  was 
not  only  czar  and  pope,  but  well-nigh  creator  as  well, 
Brigham  soon  lost  all  measure  of  the  speech  proper  to 
one  whose  words  were  law  unto  his  people. 

Left  to  himself,  Brigham's  wrath  had  a  way  of 
evaporating  in  words.  His  "  bark  was  far  worse 
than  his  bite."  He  would  rage  at  his  congregation  as 
though  they  were  all  defaulters  and  horse-thieves;  and 
then,  having  stormed  himself  into  a  good  humour,  sit 
down  and  begin  courteous  discourse  with  those  he  had 
been  berating.  He  had  forgiven  them  for  the  tongue- 
lashing  he  had  just  bestowed,  and  he  thought  it  the 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT  268 

height  of  uncharitableness  for  the  recipients  of  the 
castigation  to  be  resentful. 

Unfortunately,  there  were  those  at  hand  who  were 
ready  to  practise  what  Brigham  was  willing  only  to 
preach.  Foremost  of  these  was  Jedediah  M.  Grant, 
whose  portrait  has  been  sketched  in  an  earlier  chapter. 
Grant  would  have  been  a  marked  man  in  any  com- 
munity, and  in  a  society  where  faith  and  zeal  were 
passports  to  promotion  he  was  sure  to  rise  to  power. 
Willard  Richards,  counsellor  of  Brigham  and  mem- 
ber of  the  first  presidency,  died  March  ii,  1854,  and 
Jedediah  Grant  shortly  afterwards  was  appointed  to 
the  vacant  place. 

Grant's  sermon  from  which  quotation  was  made  was 
preached  the  day  after  Willard  Richards'  death — ^be- 
fore Jedediah's  formal  promotion,  but  doubtless  not 
before  he  knew  that  promotion  was  coming.  In  the 
same  sermon,  speaking,  as  in  the  former  quotation,  of 
those  who  break  their  covenants,  he  said : 

"  Then  what  ought  this  meek  people  who  keep  the 
commandments  of  God  to  do  unto  them  (the  covenant- 
breakers)  ?  '  Why,'  says  one,  '  they  ought  to  pray  to  the 
Lord  to  kill  them.'  I  want  to  know  if  you  would  wish 
the  Lord  to  come  down  and  do  all  your  dirty  work  ?    .    . 

.  .  When  a  man  prays  for  a  thing,  he  ought  to  be 
willing  to  perform  it  himself." 

In  other  words,  the  person  who  prays  for  the  death 
of  a  sinner  ought  to  be  willing  to  cut  that  sinner's 
throat.  Jedediah  Grant  had  the  fatal  gift  of  con- 
sistency which  marks  the  born  inquisitor. 

This  was  March  12,  1854.  A  year  before,  Brigham 
had  crushed  an  incipient  apostasy  by  a  storming  ser- 


264j  BRIGHAM  young 

mon,  in  which  he  threatened  to  "  unsheath  his  bowie 
knife,  and  conquer  or  die!"  This,  however,  was  a 
frank  declaration  of  war,  rather  than  the  announce- 
ment of  a  new  law  of  persecution;  and  it  was  some 
time  before  Jedediah  Grant's  ravings  of  blood  had 
company.  October  6,  1855,  Brigham  made  a  tenta- 
tive venture  on  this  path.  "  Live  on  here,  then,  you 
poor  miserable  curses,  until  the  time  of  retribution, 
when  your  heads  will  have  to  be  severed  from  your 
bodies.  Just  let  the  Lord  Almighty  say:  Lay  judg- 
ment to  the  line  and  righteousness  to  the  plummet,  and 
the  time  of  thieves  is  short  in  this  community."  Five 
months  later,  March  2,  1856,  Brigham  went  a  step 
farther,  and  declared: 

"  The  time  is  coming  when  justice  will  be  laid  to  the 
line  and  righteousness  to  the  plummet;  when  we  shall 
take  the  old  broadsword  and  ask.  Are  you  for  God  ?  And 
if  you  are  not  heartily  on  the  Lord's  side,  you  will  be 
hewn  down." 

It  will  be  noticed  here  that  Brigham  forecasts  the 
Lord's  intentions,  intimating  that  the  order  to  "  lay 
judgment  to  the  line  and  righteousness  to  the  plum- 
met "  is  not  issued  yet,  but  soon  will  be. 

Weaving  in  and  out  of  these  hair-raising  threats 
we  get  a  glimpse  of  a  doctrine  soon  to  be  published 
to  the  world  as  "  blood  atonement."  This  doctrine 
was  based  on  the  words  of  Paul — Hebrews  ix,  22 — 
"  Without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remis- 
sion." Stripped  of  ecclesiastical  verbiage,  the  doctrine 
of  blood  atonement  was  that  some  sins  could  be  ex- 
piated only  by  spilling  the  blood  of  the  sinner;  and 
that  in  such  cases,  it  was  the  duty  of  all  true  believers 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT  ^65 

to  cut  a  man's  throat  for  the  saving  of  his  soul. 
Whisperings  of  this  theory  reached  the  ears  of  Lieu- 
tenant Gunnison  as  early  as  1852,  but  it  was  not  pub- 
licly proclaimed  as  church  gospel  until  September  21, 
1856,  when  Jedediah  Grant  and  Brigham  Young  did 
their  best,  or  worst,  to  make  the  ghastly  obsession 
clear  to  all.    Grant  spoke  first : 

"  I  say  there  are  men  and  women  here  that  I  would  ad- 
vise to  go  to  the  president  (Young)  immediately,  and 
ask  him  to  appoint  a  committee  to  attend  to  their  case; 
and  let  a  place  be  selected,  and  let  that  committee  shed 
their  blood.  ...  I  would  ask  how  many  covenant- 
breakers  there  are  in  this  city  and  in  this  kingdom?  I 
believe  there  are  a  great  many,  and  if  there  are  covenant- 
breakers,  we  need  a  place  designated  where  we  can  shed 
their  blood.  .  .  .  We  have  been  trying  long  enough 
with  this  people,  and  I  go  in  for  letting  the  sword  of  the 
Almighty  be  unsheathed,  not  only  in  word,  but  in  deed." 

With  less  of  savage  enjoyment  in  his  words,  Brig- 
ham  on  the  same  day  from  the  same  platform  went 
on  to  explain: 

"  There  are  sins  that  can  be  atoned  for  by  an  offering 
upon  an  altar  as  in  ancient  days ;  and  there  are  sins  that 
the  blood  of  a  lamb,  of  a  calf,  or  of  turtledoves  cannot 
remit,  but  they  must  be  atoned  for  by  the  blood  of  man !  " 

With  this  enunciation  of  the  spiritual  uses  of  throat- 
cutting,  the  "reformation"  may  be  considered  fairly 
begun. 

It  was  a  season  of  community  madness,  like  that 
which  afflicted  Salem  in  the  witch  excitement  of  1692, 


ftm  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

or  that  which  raged  against  the  "  anointers  "  of  Milan 
in  1 63 1,  or  the  numberless  mental  epidemics  which 
marked  the  course  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Hardship  and 
isolation  had  combined  to  give  the  minds  of  the  people 
a  gloomy  and  merciless  cast,  and  the  savage  preach- 
ing of  their  chief  and  his  aids  aroused  them  well-nigh 
to  frenzy.  Innocent  amusements,  always  before  sanc- 
tioned and  encouraged  by  the  church,  were  now  dis- 
countenanced or  suppressed.  Self-accusation  became 
almost  as  common  as  the  accusation  of  one's  neigh- 
bours. Whoever  escaped  infection  by  the  prevailing 
mania  was  marked  as  a  son  of  Belial,  and  an  enemy  to 
the  kingdom.  Elders  went  to  and  fro,  exhorting  the 
people  to  repent,  confess  their  sins,  and  "renew  their 
covenants  "  by  baptism.  That  no  sins  might  be  over- 
looked, a  printed  catechism  was  furnished  these  ama- 
teur inquisitors;  a  catechism  so  indecent  that  it  was 
suppressed  when  the  kingdom  recovered  its  senses. 
Through  the  whole  insane  time,  Jedediah  Grant 
stormed  to  and  fro,  and  the  burden  of  his  raving  was 
blood,  blood,  blood.  He  preached,  quizzed,  exhorted, 
baptized  almost  day  and  night;  and  literally  gave  his 
life  to  the  unworthy  cause.  When  Jedediah  Grant 
died  December  i,  1856,  the  recording  angel  must  have 
heaved  a  sigh  of  relief. 

When  it  comes  to  citing  specific  cases  of  the  prac- 
tices of  blood  atonement,  one  must  admit  that  the  evi- 
dence is  faulty.  It  could  not  be  otherwise.  The  Mor- 
mons, who  preserved  records  of  most  things,  had  too 
much  good  sense,  once  the  period  of  communal  lunacy 
was  past,  to  keep  detailed  evidences  of  their  madness. 
One  case  given  in  the  doubtful  confessions  of  John  D. 
Lee,  is  that  of  Rasmus  Anderson,  who  was  charged 
with  adultery.     According  to  the  account,  Anderson 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT  S67 

made  no  remonstrance  when  notified  that  his  blood 
was  to  be  made  a  sacrifice  for  the  cleansing  of  his 
soul,  but  asked  only  half  a  day  for  prayer  and  prep- 
aration. His  executioners  dug  his  grave,  then  called 
for  him  at  midnight,  found  him  dressed  in  clean 
clothes  for  the  occasion.  They  conducted  him  to  the 
grave  and,  after  further  prayer,  cut  his  throat. 

Another  story,  cited  by  Stenhouse,  is  that  of  the 
wife  of  an  elder.  During  her  husband's  absence,  she 
broke  her  marriage  covenants,  and  was  so  remorseful 
that  she  confessed  her  fault  on  his  return.  That  re- 
turn coincided  with  the  height  of  the  *'  reformation," 
and  it  was  decided  that  the  woman  die,  in  order  to 
regain  her  place  among  the  gods  and  goddesses,  and 
the  forfeited  motherhood  of  the  children  she  had 
borne  her  husband.  In  this  case,  the  husband  per- 
formed the  sacrifice,  and  cut  his  wife's  throat  as  she 
sat  on  his  knee. 

These  stories  are  cited  for  what  they  are  worth.  It 
is  impossible  to  verify  them,  and  the  present  writers 
believe  the  account  of  the  elder's  wife  to  be  particu- 
larly doubtful.  But  in  a  sermon  delivered  in  the  Taber- 
nacle February  8,  1857,  a  sermon  devoted  to  expound- 
ing this  very  doctrine  of  blood  atonement,  Brigham 
said: 

"  I  could  refer  you  to  plenty  of  instances  where  men 
have  been  righteously  slain  in  order  to  atone  for  their 
sins.  ...  I  have  known  a  great  many  men  who  have 
left  this  church  for  whom  there  is  no  chance  whatever  for 
exaltation,  but  if  their  blood  had  been  spilled  it  would 
have  been  better  for  them." 

Making  all  possible  allowance  for  Brigham's  pulpit 


268  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

exaggeration,  it  seems  certain  that  this  modern  gospel 
of  human  sacrifice  had  borne  some  fruit. 

Whatever  question  may  exist  about  individual  cases 
of  blood  atonement,  there  is  none  about  many  plain 
murders  resulting  from  the  fierce  intolerance  fanned  by 
the  "  reformation."  Perhaps  the  best  attested  case — 
until  we  come  to  the  crowning  horror  of  Mountain 
Meadows — is  the  one  known  as  the  Parrish  murders. 

In  the  spring  of  1857,  William  R.  Parrish,  an  old 
man,  and  a  Mormon  of  high  and  long  standing,  was 
reported  to  have  grown  cold  in  the  faith,  and  to  be 
planning  to  emigrate  to  California.  For  a  man  of 
Parrish's  standing  to  carry  his  discontent  and  his  in- 
side knowledge  to  the  Gentiles  was  clearly  dangerous 
to  the  kingdom.  His  horses  were  stolen,  thus  delaying 
his  escape ;  and  then  the  bishop  of  the  ward  and  some 
humbler  church  retainers  planned  to  murder  the  re- 
puted backslider.  Pretending  to  sympathize  with  his 
desire  to  get  away,  the  deputed  assassins  decoyed 
Parrish  from  the  village,  and  killed  him  with  a  knife. 
Two  of  his  sons  were  lured  after  their  father.  One 
was  shot  dead,  the  other  escaped — and  was  arrested 
for  the  double  murder!  Brigham  has  been  charged 
with  directly  ordering  this  crime.  The  evidence  to 
support  this  charge  is  not  of  the  best,  but  it  is  certain 
that  he  made  no  effort  to  punish  the  murderers,  not 
even  when  one  of  them  turned  state's  evidence,  and 
made  formal  confession  before  a  federal  judge.  It 
is  some  satisfaction  to  know  that  one  of  the  precious 
cut-throats  shot  his  partner  by  mistake. 

The  Parrish  case  illustrates  a  condition  much  over- 
worked in  romance  and  polemics,  but  which,  never- 
theless, was  at  one  time  a  large  and  vital  fact  in  the 
life  of  the  Mormon  kingdom.    The  apostate  was  not 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT  269 

allowed  to  leave  the  community.  In  some  cases  he 
escaped,  in  a  few  cases  the  authorities  may  have  per- 
mitted his  escape;  but  the  general  rule  was  as  stated. 
The  reason  is  obvious :  Brigham  did  not  want  men  with 
inside  knowledge  telling  evil  tales  of  his  empire  in 
the  eager  ears  of  Gentiles.  Prior  to  1853,  his  efforts 
at  dissuading  such  emigration  were  confined  to  scold- 
ing sermons,  and  these  usually  were  successful.  But 
as  time  passed  on,  and  the  arbitrary  power  wielded  by 
himself  and  his  followers  grew  into  a  vested  right, 
threats  succeeded  scoldings;  and  the  **  reformation " 
brought  executions  in  place  of  threats. 

In  "  Ninety-Three,"  Victor  Hugo  speaks  of  a  type 
of  civil  war  which  begins  by  defying  the  lightning, 
and  ends  by  robbing  a  diligence.  The  phrase  applies 
to  the  reactionaries  of  the  Mormon  kingdom  as  well 
as  to  the  reactionaries  of  the  Vendee.  There  is  some- 
thing grand,  even  though  repulsive,  in  the  Mormon 
effort  to  turn  back  the  clock  of  the  age,  and  plant  a 
theocratic  despotism  in  the  bosom  of  the  world's  most 
radical  democracy.  But  the  intolerance,  and  the  con- 
tempt of  human  life  and  human  rights  engendered  by 
this  effort  soon  found  expression  in  deeds  whose 
brutality  is  lightened  by  no  gleam  of  mistaken  en- 
thusiasm. 

Such  was  the  crime  known  as  the  San  Pete  outrage. 
Bishop  Warren  Snow  wished  to  add  a  girl  of  Manti 
to  his  collection  of  wives;  but  she  was  engaged  to  a 
man  who  refused  to  yield  her  to  his  ecclesiastical 
superior.  After  remonstrances  and  threats  had  failed 
to  shake  the  young  man's  resolution,  he  was  seized, 
tied  to  a  bench,  and  mutilated  by  Bishop  Snow  and 
his  followers.  The  unfortunate  man  regained  his 
health  but  lost  his  mind;  Bishop  Snow  married  the 


270  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

girl,  Brigham  stormed  furiously  when  he  heard  the 
news,  but,  as  always  in  such  cases,  he  inflicted  no 
punishment.  The  San  Pete  case  became  a  standing 
reference  in  the  mouths  of  coarse  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties on  the  rare  occasions  when  they  encountered  any 
opposition  to  their  will.  It  was  a  threat,  not  uncom- 
mon, "  to  make  eunuchs  of  men  who  had  the  spirit 
of  apostasy.'* 

It  is  useless  to  give  extended  accounts  of  other  out- 
rages in  the  kingdom,  where  the  motive  was  greed, 
instead  of  sexual  desire.  The  murder  of  the  Aiken 
party — six  Gentiles  who  passed  through  Utah  on  their 
way  to  California — seems  to  have  belonged  to  this 
class,  inasmuch  as  no  other  fault  could  be  found  with 
them,  and  their  outfit  was  reputed  to  be  worth  $25,000. 
Minor  cases  of  bully ings  and  floggings  are  hardly 
worth  citing  at  all.  But  before  closing  this  unpleasant 
chapter,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  defence  which 
Mormon  writers  make  for  these  crimes,  and  the 
legend  prevailing  in  the  Gentile  world  as  to  the  means 
by  which  church  murders  were  perpetrated. 

The  Mormon  defence  is  that  there  were  no  more 
murders  in  Utah  than  in  other  frontier  communities. 
This  is  true.  We  will  go  farther;  there  probably  were 
fewer  murders  in  the  Mormon  kingdom  than  in  any 
other  frontier  settlement  of  equal  numbers  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  United  States.  But  such  murders  as  were 
committed  in  the  Mormon  kingdom  grew  directly  out 
of  the  wild  sermons  and  intolerant  teachings  of  Brig- 
ham  Young,  and  of  his  aids  and  followers.  There 
is  the  fact  which  makes  the  history  of  Utah  a  thing 
apart.  In  no  other  frontier  settlement  were  throats 
cut  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  benefit  of  a  church. 
In  no  other  frontier  settlement  were  men  taught  that 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT  ^71 

human  sacrifice  was  necessary  for  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners. In  no  other  frontier  settlement  did  religious 
teachers  and  civil  authorities  join  in  proclaiming  that 
human  blood  smoking  on  the  ground  v^as  an  accept- 
able offering  to  the  Most  High.  There  v^as  not  a 
moment  when  Brigham  did  not  have  as  much  power 
and  as  good  machinery  for  enforcing  law  in  his  em- 
pire as  is  possessed  by  the  authorities  of  England  or 
Prussia  to-day  in  their  own  realm.  Murders  were 
committed  in  the  Mormon  kingdom,  not  to  defy  Brig- 
ham's  authority,  but  to  maintain  it.  In  many  cases, 
perhaps  in  most  cases,  Brigham  knew  nothing  of  the 
deed  until  it  was  done.  In  many  cases,  perhaps  in 
most  cases,  he  regretted  the  over-violent  acts  of  his 
followers.  But  those  acts  grew  directly  out  of  his 
own  teachings  and  ambitions,  and  Brigham  recognized 
this  fact  when  he  failed  to  punish  or  even  to  condemn 
those  criminals  who  had  served  him  too  well.  One 
sermon  denouncing  murder  and  upholding  the  sanctity 
of  human  life,  as  Brigham  often  denounced  apostasy 
and  upheld  the  sanctity  of  the  priesthood,  would  have 
gone  far  to  check  the  outrages  of  the  "  reformation." 
No  such  sermon  was  delivered. 

The  Gentile  legend  is  that  all  these  crimes  were 
committed  by  a  weird  organization  (known  as  the 
"  Danites,"  a  society  whose  members  were  at  once 
murderers,  missionaries,  and  mounted  police;  latter- 
day  knights  riding  abroad  "  upon  a  mission,  to  cut 
throats  and  spread  religion,  pure  and  undefiled." 

The  legend  is  a  legend  and  no  more.  It  has  a  basis 
of  fact.  There  was  an  organization  called  "  Danites  " 
during  a  part  of  the  sojourn  in  Missouri  and  at  Nau- 
voo.  It  seems  to  have  been  formed  as  a  sort  of  body- 
guard to  Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  and  to  have  degen- 


«72  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

erated  into  an  association  of  strictly  undesirable  citi- 
zens. The  name  was  carried  to  Utah,  but  there  is  no 
reliable  evidence  that  the  organization  itself  lasted 
until  that  day.  Like  the  famous  "  Black  Hand,"  it 
was  a  name,  a  symbol,  and  nothing  more.  A  single 
reading  of  the  sketch  of  church  organization  given 
in  a  previous  chapter  will  show  that  Brigham  had  no 
need  of  "  Danites  "  specially  sworn  to  carry  out  his 
will.  The  whole  church  was  bound  to  do  that,  bound 
by  the  most  perfect  discipline  and  the  most  terrific 
oaths.  No  matter  what  he  wanted,  a  new  hymn,  a 
new  wife,  or  a  new  murder,  Brigham  had  only  to 
signify  his  will  to  the  proper  person.  A  separate  or- 
ganization, like  the  legendary  *'  Danites,"  would  have 
been  both  superfluous  and  dangerous. 


Copyrighted  by  The  Johnson  Co. 


BBIGHAM  YOUNG  AND  HIS  WIVES 


XXVII 
AT  MOUNTAIN  MEADOWS 

BY  the  summer  of  1857,  that  first  sputtering 
of  the  cauldron  of  intolerance  and  fanaticism 
known  as  the  "  reformation "  had  ceased. 
But  the  cauldron  was  still  boiling,  and  the  flames  at 
its  base  were  hotter  than  ever.  To  all  other  causes 
for  excitement  had  now  been  added  that  of  a  definite 
break  between  the  Mormon  kingdom  and  the  federal 
government.  In  August  of  1857,  the  new  president, 
James  Buchanan,  had  appointed  a  Gentile  governor  of 
Utah,  and  even  before  that  date  had  begun  preparing 
a  military  force  to  uphold  federal  authority  in  that 
territory.  In  the  eyes  of  the  Mormons,  this  was 
an  invasion  of  their  kingdom  and  their  rights. 
They  considered  themselves  fairly  at  war  with  the 
United  States;  and  some  of  them  were  ready  to 
commit  any  manner  of  atrocity  in  prosecuting  that 
war. 

Earlier  in  the  summer,  a  party  had  been  organized 
in  Arkansas  to  make  the  overland  journey  to  Cali- 
fornia. They  numbered  something  more  than  one 
hundred  and  thirty  persons,  and  belonged  to  about 
thirty  families.  The  value  of  their  outfit  has  been 
exaggerated  in  most  anti-Mormon  accounts  of  their 
fate;  but  it  seems  certain  that  these  emigrants  were 
a  little  above  the  average  in  means.  They  are  credited 
with  having  thirty  horses  and  six  hundred  cattle  on 
their  arrival  in  Utah. 

m 


^74  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

There  is  no  evidence  that  the  emigrants  knew  of 
the  tension  between  the  Mormon  kingdom  and  the  fed- 
eral government  before  setting  out  on  their  journey, 
though  doubtless  they  had  heard  of  it  during  their 
trip  across  the  plains.  They  reached  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Salt  Lake  City  early  in  August,  with  provi- 
sions low  and  animals  weary  from  the  long  march. 
They  had  planned  to  buy  supplies  and  rest  their  stock 
in  Utah,  as  other  California-bound  emigrants  had  done 
for  the  past  eight  years;  but  to  their  surprise,  this 
privilege  was  denied  them.  They  were  ordered  to 
break  camp  and  continue  their  march,  and  when  they 
sought  to  buy  provisions  no  one  had  any  to  sell. 

The  Arkansans  were  going  to  California  by  the 
southern  route,  and  marched  almost  directly  south- 
ward through  Utah.  For  more  than  300  miles  they 
kept  on,  through  a  sullenly  but  passively  hostile  popu- 
lation that  refused  to  sell  them  grain  or  to  trade  cattle 
or  horses.  The  emigrants  bought  thirty  bushels  of 
corn  from  some  Indians  on  Corn  creek;  but  they  could 
not  get  get  it  ground  at  any  mill.  At  Cedar  City,  the 
last  large  settlement  they  were  destined  to  pass 
through,  they  were  permitted  to  buy  fifty  bushels  of 
wheat,  which  was  ground  for  them  at  the  mill  of 
John  Doyle  Lee.    Fate  was  in  a  mood  to  be  dramatic. 

Lee  was  a  coarse,  violent  man,  a  born  fighter,  fear- 
less and  lawless  toward  the  world  at  large,  but  sub- 
missive and  obedient  in  all  things  to  his  church  su- 
periors. He  had  been  one  of  the  active  followers  of 
Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  and  had  gone  as  a  political 
missionary  in  Smith's  campaign  for  the  presidency  of 
the  United  States.  It  was  generally  understood  that 
when  there  was  a  rough  piece  of  work  to  be  done  for 
the  kingdom,  Lee  was  a  good  man  to  do  it.     Asso- 


AT  MOUNTAIN  MEADOWS  215 

ciated  with  him  in  the  work  which  was  to  follow  were 
Isaac  Haight,  president  of  the  Cedar  City  stake  of 
Zion;  Philip  Klingensmith,  a  bishop  in  the  same  place; 
John  M.  Higbee,  William  H.  Dame,  and  many  per- 
sons of  less  prominence.  Dame  was  president  of  the 
stake  of  Zion  at  Parowan,  and  colonel  of  the  militia 
of  Iron  county;  Higbee  was  a  lieutenant-colonel  and 
Lee  a  major  in  the  same  regiment.  They  were  birds 
of  a  feather;  narrow,  fanatical,  violent,  and  "  red  hot 
for  the  gospel  under  the  influence  of  the  late  refor- 
mation." Klingensmith  is  credited  with  being  the  man 
who  so  kindly  cut  Rasmus  Anderson's  throat  to  save 
his  soul,  in  the  case  of  blood  atonement  cited  in  the 
last  chapter. 

From  Cedar  City,  the  emigrants  moved  southwest 
past  Iron  creek  and  Pinto  creek,  and  on  Sunday,  Sep- 
tember 6,  1857,  they  were  camped  in  the  little  grassy 
valley  known  as  Mountain  Meadows.  Their  condi- 
tion was  little  short  of  desperate.  They  were  facing 
a  march  of  seventy  days  across  some  of  the  worst 
deserts  of  North  America,  with  a  supply  of  provisions 
that  would  have  been  scanty  for  two  weeks.  Their 
cattle  were  so  weary  that  they  had  consumed  five  days 
in  coming  the  last  thirty- five  miles.  It  is  doubtful  if 
they  could  have  won  through  to  their  destination,  even 
if  left  alone,  but  the  chance  was  not  offered  them. 

The  zealous  agents  of  the  kingdom  in  southern 
Utah  knew  of  the  approaching  emigrant  train  long 
before  it  arrived,  and  seem  early  to  have  discussed  the 
advisability  of  smiting  the  Gentiles.  No  final  arrange- 
ments were  made  until  after  the  Arkansans  had  passed 
Cedar  City.  Then  it  was  decided  to  rouse  the  Indians, 
and  set  them  to  butcher  the  emigrants.  Among  those 
involved  in  the  plot  at  this  stage  were  Lee,  Haight, 


276  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Klingensmith,  Higbee,  and,  in  all  probability,  William 
H.  Dame.  Haight  claimed  to  have  Dame's  authority 
for  all  he  did,  and  Dame's  presence  at  Mountain 
Meadows  immediately  after  the  massacre  supports  this 
claim. 

The  emigrants  were  camped  in  an  open  valley,  near 
a  large  spring.  They  anticipated  no  trouble  with  the 
Indians,  their  wagons  were  not  corralled,  and  their 
camp  was  commanded  by  the  surrounding  heights. 
From  these  heights,  on  Monday  morning,  September 
7,  1857,  the  Indians  opened  fire.  Seven  emigrants 
were  killed  and  sixteen  wounded  in  this  first  attack. 
With  a  steadiness  under  surprise  which  argues  good 
discipline  in  the  camp,  the  Arkansans  returned  the  fire, 
gathered  their  wagons  in  a  ring,  and  dug  a  rifle  pit 
in  the  centre  of  the  corral.  The  spring,  unfortunately, 
was  a  hundred  yards  away,  and  water  for  the  besieged 
party  could  be  brought  only  at  night,  or  secured  in 
dangerous  dashes  by  day.  There  were  not  more  than 
fifty  fighting  men  in  the  emigrant  party  at  the  start, 
and  nearly  half  of  these  had  been  killed  or  wounded 
at  the  first  onset;  but  they  held  that  pitiable  make- 
shift fort  for  four  days  against  not  less  than  three 
hundred  Indians. 

For  the  moment,  all  three  parties  involved  had  mis- 
understood the  situation.  The  Mormon  officials  who 
had  instigated  the  attack  expected  the  Indians  to  make 
short  work  of  the  emigrant  party.  Zion's  enemies 
would  thus  be  cut  off,  without  loss  or  blame  to  Zion. 
The  Indians  likewise  looked  for  an  easy  prey,  and 
when  disappointed  in  that  particular,  called  confidently 
on  the  Mormons  for  assistance.  The  emigrants  sup- 
posed their  assailants  were  Indians  alone,  and  in  spite 
of  the  sullen  looks  and  surly  refusals  to  trade  which 


AT  MOUNTAIN  MEADOWS  ^77 

they  had  encountered  in  the  Utah  settlements,  believed 
the  Mormons  would  come  to  the  rescue  of  their  fellow 
countrymen.  In  this  faith,  two  men  slipped  out  of 
the  beleaguered  camp  Wednesday  night,  and  started  to 
Cedar  City  to  summon  help.  They  got  safely  past  the 
Indians,  but  encountered  some  Mormon  fanatics  gath- 
ering for  the  massacre.  One  of  the  young  men  was 
murdered  outright.  The  other,  though  wounded,  is 
said  to  have  escaped  back  to  the  besieged  camp. 

When  word  came  of  the  gallant  and  successful  de- 
fence of  the  emigrants,  the  more  violent  Mormon  lead- 
ers saw  that  they  must  bear  the  odium  and  dangers 
of  failure,  or  carry  through  the  plot  by  aid  of  Mor- 
mon militia.  They  chose  the  latter  alternative.  Armed 
men  were  called  out  and  sent  to  Mountain  Meadows. 
No  general  levy  was  made,  but  the  selected  ruffians 
were  members  of  the  local  militia,  and  were  acting 
under  orders  of  their  regimental  officers.  Meantime 
a  plot  was  devised  which  it  was  hoped  would  avoid 
the  risks  of  fighting.  The  Mormons  were  to  come 
in  as  if  in  protection  of  the  emigrants  from  the  In- 
dians. The  emigrants  were  to  be  decoyed  from  their 
little  fort  under  promise  of  a  safe  conduct  to  Cedar 
City,  and  their  arms  were  to  be  taken  away.  Thus 
disarmed  and  helpless,  they  were  to  be  attacked  and 
murdered.  Men,  women,  and  all  children  "  old  enough 
to  talk  "  were  to  be  slain;  and  the  returning  Mormons 
were  to  report  that  the  emigrants  had  been  massacred 
by  Indians  before  help  arrived. 

The  plot  was  a  masterpiece  of  treachery,  and  like 
a  masterpiece  it  worked.  Friday  morning,  September 
II,  WiUiam  Bateman  was  sent  with  a  flag  of  truce  to 
tell  the  emigrants  that  rescue  was  coming.  A  little 
later,  John  D.  Lee  entered  the  camp,  and  completed 


278  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

arrangements.  The  Arkansans  were  told  that  they 
would  be  taken  in  safety  to  Cedar  City,  and  kept  there 
until  there  was  a  chance  to  send  them  on  their  journey; 
but  that  they  must  give  up  their  arms,  so  as  to  avoid 
exciting  the  Indians.  This  order  must  have  roused 
suspicion,  but  the  ammunition  of  the  emigrants  was 
nearly  gone,  and  they  yielded.  Two  wagons  were  pro- 
vided. In  one,  driven  by  a  man  named  McMurdy, 
were  placed  the  arms,  and  the  smaller  children.  The 
other  wagon,  whose  driver  was  named  Knight,  was 
loaded  with  the  wounded,  and  a  start  was  made  for 
Cedar  City.  The  women  and  older  children  walked 
immediately  behind  the  wagons.  Last  came  the  men, 
in  single  file,  with  the  foremost  man  about  fifty  yards 
behind  the  women.  An  armed  Mormon  walked  at  the 
side  of  each  unarmed  emigrant,  as  if  in  strenuous  pro- 
tection. 

The  Indians  had  been  withdrawn  from  the  siege  of 
the  camp,  and  placed  in  ambush  among  some  low 
cedars.  The  wagons  led  the  way  straight  towards 
this  ambush.  At  a  given  signal :  "  Do  your  duty !  " 
each  guard  turned  and  shot  the  unarmed  man  at  his 
side;  the  Indians  leaped  from  hiding  and  fell  upon 
the  women;  and  Lee,  Knight,  and  McMurdy,  with 
some  assistance  from  the  Indians,  butchered  the 
wounded  men  in  the  wagon.  Scouts  had  been  placed 
on  horseback  to  run  down  any  who  might  escape;  but 
as  Higbee  reported :  "  The  boys  acted  admirably,  they 
took  good  aim,  and  all  but  three  of  the  Gentiles  fell 
at  the  first  fire."  Of  the  entire  party,  only  seven- 
teen children  were  spared.  The  oldest  of  these  was 
seven  years  of  age. 

It  was  one  of  the  most  monstrous  massacres  that 
ever  stained  the  annals  of  North  America.     Other 


AT  MOUNTAIN  MEADOWS  279 

butcheries  have  numbered  more  victims,  and  been  dis- 
tinguished by  greater  refinements  of  cruelty;  but  none 
can  surpass  Mountain  Meadows  for  consummate 
treachery.  The  details  of  guilt,  the  infamy  of  the 
plot,  the  savagery  of  the  murder,  may  be  apportioned 
as  one  likes  among  Lee,  Haight,  Dame,  Klingensmith, 
and  their  fellows.  The  historic  responsibility  for  this 
horror  must  be  placed  squarely  on  the  shoulders  of 
Brigham  Young. 

The  historic  responsibility,  not  the  legal.  Brigham 
did  not  order  this  massacre.  He  did  not  want  it  to 
take  place.  When  a  messenger  arrived  to  tell  him  of 
the  threatening  destruction,  he  sent  word  to  stop,  and 
let  the  emigrants  go  unharmed.  When  another  des- 
patch brought  word  that  this  order  had  come  too  late, 
and  that  the  butchery  was  accomplished,  Brigham,  ac- 
cording to  the  testimony  of  an  eye-witness,  wept  like 
a  child.  These  facts  clear  Brigham  of  direct  com- 
plicity in  the  slaughter;  but  do  not  lighten  by  the 
weight  of  a  hair  his  moral  accountability. 

For  the  massacre  at  Mountain  Meadows  was  the 
logical  culmination  of  that  "  reformation ''  which 
Brigham  had  first  permitted,  then  sanctioned  and  sus- 
tained. It  was  the  legitimate  result  of  the  doctrine  of 
blood  atonement.  It  was  no  more  than  the  translation 
into  deeds  of  sermons  which  Brigham  and  his  aids 
had  preached  for  years.  Brigham  and  Jedediah  Grant 
and  Heber  Kimball  and  others  had  risen  in  the  pulpit 
Sunday  after  Sunday,  and  raved  and  ranted  about 
"unsheathing  the  bowie  knife,"  "laying  judgment  to 
the  line  and  righteousness  to  the  plummet,"  "  shed- 
ding blood,"  "  hewing  down  the  evil  tree,"  and  a  thou- 
sand other  such  criminal  follies.  Was  it  to  be  ex- 
pected that  simple  savages  like  Lee  or  covetous  sav- 


280  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

ages  like  Haight  or  Klingensmith  would  hold  their 
hands  when  thus  told  of  the  righteousness  of  murder? 
Were  they  to  quibble  and  evade  and  tone  down  the 
words  of  the  Lord's  anointed  prophet  and  revela- 
tor?  If  the  sermons  of  the  "reformation''  meant 
anything,  the  Mountain  Meadows  massacre  was 
justified.  If  they  meant  nothing,  why  were  they 
uttered  ? 

But  there  is  no  need  to  rest  the  claim  of  Brigham's 
responsibility  on  even  so  clear  an  argument  as  this. 
It  is  proved  by  his  subsequent  actions.  There  is  good 
evidence  that  Brigham  had  every  detail  of  the  tragedy 
from  the  mouth  of  John  D.  Lee  as  soon  as  Lee  could 
get  from  Mountain  Meadows  to  Salt  Lake  City. 
There  is  absolute  certainty  that  whether  from  Lee  or 
from  another,  Brigham  knew  the  whole  ghastly  story 
within  a  few  days.  His  mastership  of  the  territory  in 
those  days  has  never  been  questioned.  Yet  to  the  day 
of  his  death,  Brigham  never  lifted  a  finger  to  bring 
to  justice  the  perpetrators  of  this  massacre.  Lee  was 
a  bishop  of  the  church  when  engaged  in  cutting  throats 
at  Mountain  Meadows,  and  a  bishop  of  the  church 
he  remained  for  years  afterwards.  Brigham  reserved 
to  himself  the  right  to  grant  permissions  for  plural 
marriage,  and  Lee  took  a  new  plural  wife  after  the 
massacre.  As  long  as  he  could,  with  safety  to  him- 
self, Brigham  gave  Lee  every  countenance  that  could 
be  given  to  a  man  of  Lee's  type  and  attainments;  and 
when  finally  brought  to  trial,  Lee  could  not  be  con- 
victed until  the  United  States  prosecutor  had  declared 
in  court  that  the  government  was  trying  to  convict 
this  one  man,  not  any  of  his  church  associates  or 
superiors!  Then,  and  not  till  then,  were  the  tongues 
of  witnesses  loosened,  and  the  consciences  of  jurymen 


AT  MOUNTAIN  MEADOWS  281 

satisfied  that  Lee  had  done  murder  at  Mountain 
Meadows,  nearly  twenty  years  before. 

Horrible  as  was  the  crime  itself,  the  excuses  offered 
for  it  by  Mormon  historians  add  a  touch  of  infamy 
not  often  achieved.  The  A'rkansans,  being  safely 
dead,  are  maligned.  The  story  is  told  at  length  of 
how  Parley  P.  Pratt  had  been  murdered  in  Arkansas 
some  years  before,  and  a  host  of  impossible  charges 
are  laid  to  the  emigrants  themselves.  They  are 
charged  with  having  poisoned  a  spring,  and  boasted 
of  it,  with  having  poisoned  an  ox,  and  fed  it  to  the 
Indians,  with  bragging  that  they  took  part  in  the  mur- 
der of  Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  with  insulting  women, 
and  indulging  in  boisterous  conduct  in  the  towns 
through  which  they  passed. 

The  case  of  Parley  P.  Pratt  need  not  detain  us.  He 
induced  a  woman  whom  he  had  converted  to  elope 
from  her  husband,  and  become  Mrs.  Parley  P.  Pratt, 
No.  9.  Later,  she  came  back,  and  took  the  children 
whom  she  had  previously  left  behind.  Pratt's  con- 
nection with  this  kidnapping  was  not  proved,  and 
Mr.  McLean,  the  injured  husband,  committed  a  crime 
when  he  killed  the  Apostle — but  was  it  a  crime  prop- 
erly punishable  by  the  murder  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  persons  who  had  no  part  in  it,  merely  because 
they  came  from  the  same  state? 

The  charges  against  the  emigrants  themselves  are 
quite  as  idle.  Had  they  been  guilty  of  any  such  dis- 
turbance, they  would  have  been  laid  by  the  heels  within 
forty-eight  hours  after  they  entered  the  Mormon 
kingdom.  In  one  point,  the  absurdity  of  the  charges 
becomes  grotesque.  Since  no  Arkansans  were  present 
at  the  murder  of  Joseph  Smith,  it  became  necessary 
to  invent  a  party  of  "  Missouri  wildcats  "  who  were 


282  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

travelling  in  company  with  the  party  from  Arkansas. 
These  Missourians  are  as  mythical  as  the  poisoned 
spring.  It  is  passing  strange  that  intelligent  men, 
such  as  some  of  the  Mormon  historians  are,  cannot 
see  that  by  repeating  these  absurd  slanders,  they  are 
making  themselves  apologists  for  the  most  atrocious 
massacre  that  has  stained  American  annals. 

When  describing  the  wicked  and  unjust  expulsion 
of  the  Mormons  from  Nauvoo,  the  present  writers 
pointed  out  that  democracy  is  so  illy  organized  for 
violence  that  the  worst  men,  accustomed  to  democratic 
methods  of  government  and  work,  make  botches  of 
their  attempt  of  wholesale  wickedness.  Democracy 
must  be  submerged  by  the  mob  or  superseded  by  a 
semi-feudal  political  machine  before  cruelty  or  thiev- 
ery can  thrive  on  a  large  scale  on  the  soil  of  freedom. 
We  may  here  point  the  converse  of  that  moral.  The 
machinery  of  a  theocratic  despotism  is  ready  for  any 
crime,  when  grasped  by  the  hand  of  a  scoundrel.  The 
men  who  engineered  the  massacre  at  Mountain  Mead- 
ows were  both  sacerdotal  and  military  officers  of  the 
Mormon  kingdom.  They  were  knit  together  in  the 
bonds  of  martial  and  ecclesiastical  discipline.  The 
very  signal  for  murder  was  an  appeal  to  their  mis- 
guided loyalty — "  Do  your  duty !  "  Lee  and  Haight 
and  Dame  and  Higbee  and  Klingensmith  did  not 
need  to  alter  a  single  detail  in  the  organization  of 
Zion's  empire.  They  needed  only  to  assign  it  the  task 
which  their  villainy  had  conceived. 

John  Doyle  Lee  was  finally  convicted,  and  was  ex- 
ecuted on  the  scene  of  his  crime,  March  23,  1877. 
His  execution  was  just;  and  a  goodly  company  might 
have  been  kneeling  beside  him  on  their  coffins  with  no 
loss  to  the  world,  and  no  miscarriage  of  justice.    But 


AT  MOUNTAIN  MEADOWS  ^85 

the  greatest  criminal  of  the  Mountain  Meadows  hor- 
ror cannot  be  disposed  of  in  so  summary  a  fashion. 
That  criminal  is  the  evil  doctrine  that  any  man  can 
absolve  himself  from  responsibility  to  and  for  his  fel- 
lows by  yielding  blind  obedience  to  some  prophet, 
prince,  or  priest. 


XXVIII 
THE  MORMON  WAR 

IT  is  necessary  now  to  leave  the  regular  course  of 
events  in  Utah  and  bring  together  the  threads 
from  which  were  woven  that  web  of  shamed 
authority  and  lost  opportunity  known  as  the  "  Mor- 
mon war."  This  "  war "  was  but  one  more  clash 
between  democracy  and  theocracy,  between  free  gov- 
ernment and  despotism.  The  growing  nation  had 
come  once  more  in  contact  with  the  Mormon  king- 
dom, and  as  before,  contact  meant  conflict.  But  this 
time,  aggression  as  well  as  provocation  was  com- 
menced by  the  kingdom;  and  the  nation  failed  to  use 
its  overwhelming  might  to  end  in  fitting  fashion  the 
quarrel  which  Brigham  and  his  aids  had  begun. 

The  experience  of  Judge  Brocchus  had  been  pro- 
phetic. He  was  but  the  first  of  a  considerable  line 
of  retreating  federal  officials  who  proclaimed  that 
there  was  no  law  in  Utah  save  the  will  of  Brigham 
Young.  Steptoe  was  caught  in  an  intrigue  as  cleverly 
managed  as  if  Brigham  had  been  trained  at  the  court 
of  Louis  XV,  instead  of  in  the  backwoods  and  prairies 
of  America.  Judge  Drummond  was  balked  and 
baffled  when  he  undertook  to  resist  some  of  the  legal 
predilections  of  the  territory.  Judge  Stiles  was  defied 
to  his  face,  told  that  if  he  decided  against  the  Mor- 
mon contention,  he  would  be  taken  from  the  bench, 
"  damned  quick  " — and  Brigham  refused  to  give  the 
court  protection.     David  H.  Burr,  surveyor-general 

284 


THE  MORMON  WAR  285 

of  Utah,  made  a  report  to  the  federal  government, 
adverse  to  some  claims  of  Brigham  Young.  A  few 
days  later,  Burr  was  visited  by  three  Mormon  officials, 
the  clerk  of  the  supreme  court,  the  territorial  mar- 
shal, and  the  acting  district  attorney.  They  showed 
him  a  copy  of  his  report,  warned  him  that  they  would 
know  every  word  he  sent  to  Washington,  and  inti- 
mated that  he  would  better  cease  criticising  the  land 
titles  of  the  ''Lion  of  the  Lord." 

Insults  like  these  could  not  be  endured  forever, 
even  by  the  complaisant  federal  government  of  the 
decade  prior  to  the  Civil  war.  Matters  were  made 
more  serious  by  the  persistent  efforts  to  get  Utah 
admitted  as  a  state.  One  such  attempt  was  made  in 
1854,  another  in  1856;  and  though  these  efforts 
failed,  they  gave  earnest  of  a  settled  purpose,  most 
skilfully  prosecuted.  Even  in  our  day,  when  the 
theory  of  absolute  state  sovereignty  lies  buried  at 
Appomattox,  Utah's  stateship  has  enabled  the  Mor- 
mon hierarchy  to  violate  its  pledges  with  impunity, 
and  to  seat  its  ambassador  in  the  senate  of  the  United 
States.  Fifty  years  ago,  statehood  was  almost  price- 
less. Federal  control  of  territories  was  substantially 
as  great  then  as  now;  while  federal  control  of  states 
had  been  lessening  since  the  days  of  Jackson,  till  it 
well-nigh  had  reached  the  vanishing  point.  Sooner  or 
later,  a  political  bargain  would  give  the  Mormons  this 
boon  at  the  hands  of  Congress,  as  a  political  bargain 
had  secured  them  the  Nauvoo  charter  from  the  legis- 
lature of  Illinois.  With  the  slave  state  problem  of 
the  South  complicated  by  a  polygamy  state  problem 
in  the  West,  the  Union  might  become  scarce  worth 
preserving.  Every  patriotic  statesman,  whose  atten- 
tion was  not  monopolized  by  slavery,  recognized  with 


286  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

irritation  and  alarm  the  growing  arrogance  of  the 
Mormon  kingdom. 

But  as  often  happens  in  our  country,  the  people 
were  taking  fire  faster  than  their  officials.  All  over 
the  land  was  rising  a  slow  but  mighty  tide  of  anger 
against  the  polygamous  despotism  of  Brigham  Young. 
It  was  an  anger  resting  on  instinct  and  suspicion, 
rather  than  on  knowledge;  but  for  the  moment  it  was 
little  less  dangerous  on  that  account.  In  June  of 
1856,  the  first  Republican  national  convention  classed 
polygamy  with  slavery  as  "  twin  relics  of  barbarism." 
In  the  same  month,  as  if  to  warn  the  Mormons  that 
they  could  not  longer  play  off  one  party  against  the 
other,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  leader  of  the  Democratic 
party,  made  a  speech  at  Springfield,  Illinois.  He  re- 
cited the  charges  made  against  the  Mormon  kingdom, 
and  declared  that  if  those  charges  were  proven  true, 
it  would  be  the  duty  of  Congress  to  "  apply  the  knife, 
and  cut  out  this  loathsome  and  disgusting  ulcer." 

As  in  most  disputes,  there  is  something  to  be  said 
on  both  sides.  The  Mormon  view  was  not  entirely 
without  merit.  They  misused  and  bullied  federal  offi- 
cials; but  many  of  those  officials  were  of  a  breed  to 
invite  such  treatment.  Judge  Drummond,  for  ex- 
ample, left  his  wife  in  the  "  States,"  to  travel  openly 
about  Utah  with  his  mistress;  and  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  trying  cases  with  her  sitting  beside  him.  There 
was  also  a  healthy  impatience  with  "  carpet-bag  gov- 
ernment," which  all  Americans  can  understand  and 
respect.  But  when  all  other  allowances  are  made,  the 
fact  remains  that  then,  as  now,  the  Mormon  kingdom 
was  set  in  sullen  opposition  to  every  principle  and 
practice  of  American  government.  The  only  question 
at  any  time  was  whether  the  nation  would  accept  the 


THE  MORMON  WAR  287 

provocation  which  the  kingdom  never  ceased  to  offer. 
Brigham's  one  declaration :  "  I  am  and  will  be  gov- 
ernor, and  no  power  can  hinder  it,"  was  enough  to 
justify  his  summary  removal,  and  the  use  of  any 
power  or  punishments  necessary  to  make  that  re- 
moval effective. 

Mormon  writers  have  tried  to  find  the  cause  of  the 
"  war  "  in  the  disappointment  of  a  mail  contractor, 
and  the  subtle  scheming  of  Southern  statesmen,  who 
wished  to  disperse  the  regular  army  to  make  ready 
for  secession.  As  for  the  last,  it  was  hardly  a  pow- 
erful motive  so  early  as  1857,  and  if  it  had  been  the 
determining  factor  of  the  "  war,"  the  number  of 
troops  first  ordered  to  Utah  would  have  been  much 
larger  than  was  the  case.  As  for  the  mail  contract, 
Heber  C.  Kimball  did  underbid  W.  M.  F.  Magraw, 
and  Magraw  did  write  to  the  president  a  letter  de- 
nouncing the  Mormons  in  severe  though  general 
terms.  But  Magraw  did  not  write  the  first  national 
Republican  platform,  nor  make  the  Springfield  speech 
of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  nor  seize  the  papers  of  a 
United  States  judge,  nor  open  the  mail  of  a  surveyor- 
general,  nor  presume  to  name  the  perpetual  and  ir- 
removable governor  of  Utah,  nor  do  any  of  the  thou- 
sand things  which  made  it  clear  that  a  clash  between 
Mormonism  and  Americanism  was  inevitable. 

May  28,  1857 — less  than  three  months  after  Presi- 
dent Buchanan  took  office — Winfield  Scott,  general- 
in-chief  of  the  regular  army,  sent  a  circular  to  heads 
of  departments,  reminding  them  of  the  orders  al- 
ready issued  to  assemble  troops  at  Fort  Leavenworth 
for  the  Mormon  expedition,  and  giving  in  some  detail 
the  equipment  to  be  provided.  The  force  was  to  con- 
sist of  2,500  men.     In  addition  to  ordinary  supplies, 


288  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

2,000  beef  cattle  were  to  be  bought,  and  driven  for- 
ward with  the  army.  One  month  later,  June  29,  a 
letter  of  instructions,  prepared  after  consultation  with 
the  War  Department  and  doubtless  with  the  President, 
was  despatched  to  General  W.  S.  Harney,  then  pro- 
posed for  commander  of  the  expedition.  He  was  to 
accompany  the  new  civil  governor  to  Utah,  and  to 
use  his  force  as  a  posse  comitatus  to  enforce  the  or- 
ders of  the  governor,  or  the  decrees  of  judges.  He 
was  to  avoid  all  conflict  with  the  inhabitants  of  Utah, 
so  far  as  it  was  possible  to  do  so;  and  particularly  he 
was  to  attack  no  one,  except  in  carrying  out  his  or- 
ders from  the  civil  authorities,  or  in  sheer  self-defence. 
At  the  same  time,  he  was  warned  to  expect  armed  and 
organized  resistance  on  the  very  threshold  of  the  re- 
bellious territory  and  was  counselled  not  to  divide  his 
forces.  This  letter  contained  some  remarks  about  the 
trouble  that  might  ensue,  owing  to  the  lateness  of  the 
start.  This  halting  prophecy  was  fulfilled,  as  thor- 
oughly as  if  it  had  been  one  of  Heber  Kimball's. 

Most  of  the  troops  got  away  from  Fort  Leaven- 
worth late  in  July.  Partly  by  good  luck — which 
favoured  him  throughout  this  episode — and  partly 
through  the  shrewd  intelligence  and  devotion  of  two 
of  his  subordinates,  Brigham  knew  of  the  expedition 
almost  as  soon  as  it  had  started.  Abraham  O.  Smoot, 
father  of  the  present  Apostle,  Senator  Reed  Smoot, 
and  at  that  time  mayor  of  Salt  Lake  City,  left  that  city 
June  2,  1857,  with  the  monthly  mail  for  the  East. 
He  met  soldiers  on  the  plains,  who  said  they  were 
scouting  for  Indians — and  Smoot  had  seen  no  In- 
dians. Some  distance  west  of  Independence,  the 
eastern  end  of  his  mail  route,  Smoot  began  to  meet 
heavy  freight  teams,  whose  drivers  would  say  only 


THE  MORMON  WAR  289 

that  they  had  government  freight,  and  were  bound — 
as  was  self-evident — for  some  western  post.  Two 
days  later,  he  reached  Kansas  City,  where  his  sus- 
picions were  well  confirmed,  and  he  learned  of  the 
proposed  **  invasion."  The  postmaster  at  Independ- 
ance  refused  to  deliver  any  more  mail  for  Salt  Lake 
City.  Turning  westward,  Smoot  and  his  associates 
began  to  gather  up  their  horses  and  supplies  which 
had  been  used  in  transporting  the  mails.  They  met 
"  Port "  Rockwell  with  the  July  mail,  120  miles  east 
of  Fort  Laramie,  and  he  turned  back  with  them.  On 
July  18,  Smoot  and  Rockwell  left  Fort  Laramie  with 
four  of  their  best  horses,  and  a  light  spring  wagon. 
Five  days  and  three  hours  later,  they  drove  into  Salt 
Lake  City,  a  distance  of  513  miles. 

The  24th  of  July  is  the  day  kept  memorable  by 
Mormons  as  the  anniversary  of  their  entrance  to  the 
Happy  Valley.  This  being  the  tenth  year  since  that 
event,  unusual  preparations  were  made  for  the  cele- 
bration, which  was  to  take  place  at  Cottonwood  Lake. 
According  to  most  Mormon  accounts,  Brigham  was 
already  at  the  lake  when  Smoot  and  Rockwell  arrived 
in  the  city  on  the  evening  of  July  23,  and  they  fol- 
lowed him  thither  next  morning  with  the  news. 
When  the  people  gathered  round  him  for  the  speech 
without  which  no  great  occasion  was  deemed  com- 
plete, Brigham  told  them  that  a  federal  army  was 
marching  against  Zion.  He  reminded  them  of  his 
own  declaration  on  entering  the  valley,  that  in  ten 
years'  time  he  would  ask  no  odds  of  Uncle  Sam  or 
the  devil;  and  added  with  whimsical  humour  that  the 
devil  had  taken  him  at  his  word.  He  promised  his 
people  that  if  they  would  live  their  religion,   God 


290  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

would  see  them  through  their  trials,  and  strike  down 
the  legions  coming  against  them. 

Notwithstanding  this  reliance  on  the  Lord,  Brig- 
ham  did  not  neglect  his  part  of  the  prophesied 
deliverance.  Messengers  were  sent  to  England,  the 
Continent,  and  the  Pacific  states  to  call  home  the 
missionaries  who  were  in  those  parts  labouring  for 
Zion.  The  Western  Standard,  a  church  paper  pub- 
lished in  San  Francisco,  was  ordered  discontinued, 
and  its  editor  and  his  assistants  returned  home  to  de- 
fend the  kingdom.  A  prosperous  colony  had  been 
started  in  southern  California,  and  this  also  was  sac- 
rificed. The  abandonment  of  Nevada,  then  known 
as  Carson  county,  was  only  in  part  the  result  of  the 
approaching  peril;  but  perhaps  this  was  the  deciding 
factor.  No  one  hesitated,  no  one  rebelled.  With  a 
courage  worthy  of  greater  enlightenment  and  a  bet- 
ter cause,  the  Mormon  people  gathered  around  their 
prophet,  prepared  to  do  his  will,  even  unto  the  utter- 
most, in  resisting  a  nation  amply  capable  of  wiping 
them  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Indeed,  this  was  the  fate  which  they  believed  had 
been  prepared  for  them;  and  Brigham  was  not  slow 
to  encourage  that  notion.  Even  more  than  the  British 
authorities  whom  Mulvaney  describes,  Americans  on 
each  new  movement  of  troops  act  "  like  a  girls'  school 
meeting  a  big  red  bull  in  the  road.'*  Wild  talk  ran 
from  tongue  to  ear  in  the  eastern  states  and  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  that  the  troops  had  been  sent  to  dis- 
perse the  Mormon  community  and  to  hang  Brigham 
Young.  In  spite  of  the  absence  of  a  mail  service, 
these  rumours  quickly  found  their  way  to  Utah,  and 
they  grew  on  the  road.  The  experience  of  the  Saints 
in  Missouri  and  Illinois  gave  colour  to  these  tales  of 


THE  MORMON  WAR  291 

destruction,  and  the  man  whose  cool  judgment — had 
he  suffered  it  to  prevail — would  have  known  at  once 
the  absurdity  of  the  stories  and  the  impossibility  of 
resistance,  was  storming  to  and  fro  in  the  pulpit,  in- 
creasing the  excitement. 

"  We  have  borne  enough  of  their  oppression  and 
abuse,"  urged  Brigham,  *'  and  we  will  not  bear  any 
more  of  it  .  .  .  I  am  not  going  to  permit  troops 
here  for  the  protection  of  the  priests  and  the  rabble 
in  their  efforts  to  drive  us  from  the  land  we  possess. 
You  might  as  well  tell  me  that  you  can  make  hell 
into  a  powder-house  as  to  tell  me  that  they  intend 
to  keep  an  army  here  and  have  peace.  I  have  told 
you  that  if  there  is  any  man  or  woman  who  is  not 
willing  to  destroy  everything  of  their  property  which 
would  be  of  use  to  an  enemy  if  left,  I  would  advise 
them  to  leave  the  territory.  And  I  again  say  so  to- 
day; for  when  the  time  comes  to  burn  and  lay  waste 
our  improvements,  if  any  man  undertakes  to  shield 
his  he  will  be  treated  as  a  traitor,  for  judgment  will 
be  laid  to  the  line  and  righteousness  to  the  plummet. 
.  .  .  Now,  the  faint-hearted  can  go  in  peace;  but 
should  that  time  come,  they  must  not  interfere.  Be- 
fore I  will  again  suffer  as  I  have  in  times  gone  by, 
there  shall  not  be  one  building,  nor  one  foot  of  lumber, 
nor  a  fence,  nor  a  tree,  nor  a  particle  of  grass  or 
hay  that  will  burn  left  within  reach  of  enemies, 
I  am  sworn,  if  driven  to  extremity,  to  utterly  lay 
waste  this  land,  in  the  name  of  Israel's  God,  and  our 
enemies  shall  find  it  as  barren  as  when  we  came 
here.'' 

Whether  Brigham  would  have  kept  his  oath  if 
driven  to  extremity  can  be  but  a  matter  of  opinion. 
The  present  writers  believe  he  would.     At  any  rate, 


292  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

he  went  on  making  plans  for  resistance.  On  August 
I,  the  Nauvoo  Legion  was  ordered  to  hold  itself  in 
readiness.  On  August  13,  a  party  was  sent  out  to 
reconnoitre,  and  get  in  touch  with  the  advancing 
force.  The  last  of  the  same  month,  Captain  Van 
Vliet,  of  General  Harney's  staff,  arrived  in  Salt  Lake 
City  as  a  sort  of  avant  courier,  to  learn  what  dis- 
position the  church  leaders  really  bore  toward  the 
federal  government.  He  was  not  long  in  learning. 
Brigham  received  him  courteously,  but  declared  over 
and  over  that  the  approaching  troops  never  should 
enter  the  valley.  The  Mormons  had  suffered  enough, 
Brigham  declared,  and  henceforth  they  meant  to  meet 
persecution  on  the  threshhold;  and  he  dwelt  at  length 
on  his  determination  to  make  the  valley  a  desert  be- 
fore the  federal  troops  should  enter  it.  "  If  they  [the 
government]  dare  to  force  the  issue,"  declared  Young, 
"  I  shall  not  hold  the  Indians  by  the  wrist  any  longer 
for  white  men  to  shoot  at.  They  shall  go  ahead  and 
do  as  they  please.'* 

Two  days  before  this  remark  was  made,  the  In- 
dians— with  the  aid  of  some  fifty- four  Mormons — 
had  "  done  as  they  pleased  "  at  Mountain  Meadows. 
Brigham  did  not  know  this  as  yet;  but  his  statement 
shows  that  he  had  considered  using  the  Indians  as 
allies  against  the  United  States.  It  speaks  volumes 
for  his  personality  that  in  spite  of  his  utter  repudia- 
tion of  the  nation  which  his  visitor  served,  he  sent 
Captain  Van  Vliet  away  more  than  half  convinced 
of  the  justice  of  the  Mormon  cause. 

Van  Vliet  left  Salt  Lake  City  September  14.  The 
next  day,  Brigham  issued  a  proclamation  declaring 
martial  law  in  the  territory,  and  breathing  forth 
threatenings  on  all  enemies  of  the  Saints. 


THE  MORMON  WAR  293 

"  For  the  last  twenty-five  years  we  have  trusted  offi- 
cials of  this  government,  from  constables  and  justices  to 
judges,  governors  and  presidents,  only  to  be  scorned,  held 
in  derision,  insulted  and  betrayed.  Our  houses  have  been 
plundered,  and  then  burned,  our  fields  laid  waste,  our 
principal  men  butchered,  while  under  the  pledged  faith  of 
the  government  for  their  safety,  and  our  families  driven 
from  their  homes  to  find  that  shelter  in  the  barren  wilder- 
ness and  that  protection  among  hostile  savages,  which 
were  denied  them  in  the  boastful  abodes  of  Christianity 
and  civilization.    .    .    . 

"  We  are  condemned  unheard,  and  forced  to  an  issue 
with  an  armed  mercenary  mob,  which  has  been  sent 
against  us  at  the  instigation  of  anonymous  letter  writers, 
ashamed  to  father  the  base,  slanderous  falsehoods  they 
have  given  to  the  public;  of  corrupt  officials  who  have 
brought  false  accusations  against  us  to  screen  themselves 
in  their  own  infamy ;  and  of  hireling  priests  and  howling 
editors  who  prostitute  the  truth  for  filthy  lucre's  sake." 

It  is  needless  at  this  day  to  do  more  than  indicate 
the  chief  absurdities  of  this  proclamation.  It  assumes 
two  things:  First,  that  the  federal  government  had 
no  right  to  send  troops  to  a  territory,  and  second, 
that  the  mission  of  these  troops  was  to  destroy  the 
Mormons,  instead  of  to  insure  obedience  to  law.  Both 
of  these  assumptions  were  false.  Brigham's  procla- 
mations at  this  time,  like  his  sermons  during  the 
"  reformation,"  show  how  even  a  cool,  calm  judg- 
ment can  be  unsettled  by  the  strong  wine  of  irre- 
sponsible power. 

But  it  was  only  in  his  rhetoric  that  this  error  of 
judgment  was  made  manifest;  and  when  we  re- 
member that  his  proclamations  and  letters  were  in- 


294  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

tended  for  the  home  market,  which  he  understood 
better  than  any  one  else,  it  may  be  there  was  no  great 
blunder  there.  His  preparations  for  the  "  war  "  and 
conduct  of  it  were  as  perfect  as  possible  in  such  a 
conflict.  On  September  22,  a  scouting  party  camped 
within  half  a  mile  of  the  slow-moving  regular  troops, 
and  never  lost  touch  with  them  till  the  beginning  of 
winter.  When  the  soldiers  crossed  the  boundary  of 
the  territory  of  Utah,  Brigham  sent  a  letter  to  Colonel 
E.  B.  Alexander,  commander  of  the  advance  guard. 
This  letter  informed  the  colonel  that  he  had  trans- 
gressed the  orders  of  the  august  governor  of  Utah, 
who  had  forbidden  armed  troops  to  enter  that  sacred 
territory.  The  army  must  retreat  immediately,  de- 
clared Brigham;  but  if  this  should  be  impossible,  owing 
to  the  lateness  of  the  season,  they  might  remain  dur- 
ing the  winter,  provided  they  surrendered  their  arms 
to  the  Utah  authorities !  Instead  of  hanging  the  mes- 
senger w^ho  brought  such  an  epistle,  Colonel  Alex- 
ander returned  a  courteous  if  somewhat  curt  re- 
joinder. With  this  exchange  of  missives,  hostilities 
may  be  said  to  have  begun. 


XXIX 

END  OF  THE  MORMON  WAR 

THE  little  federal  army  was  formidable  in  out- 
ward seeming;  but  in  reality,  it  was  helpless 
as  the  babes  in  the  wood.  At  close  quarters, 
it  could  have  crushed  several  times  its  number  of 
Mormon  or  any  other  militia — but  it  could  not  get 
to  close  quarters.  There  were  two  infantry  regiments, 
the  Fifth  and  the  Tenth,  and  two  batteries.  But 
there  was  no  cavalry,  and  cavalry  was  the  one  arm 
imperatively  needed.  The  Second  Dragoons  had  been 
assigned  to  this  expedition,  but  were  held  back,  owing 
to  troubles  in  Kansas.  Almost  as  bad  as  this  mis- 
judgment  was  the  series  of  changes  in  command  of 
the  army.  General  Harney  was  first  scheduled  for 
this  post,  but,  like  the  horsemen,  was  retained  to  deal 
with  Free-soilers  and  Border  Ruffians.  The  man 
appointed  as  Harney's  successor  died  before  he  could 
assume  command.  Finally,  Colonel  Albert  Sidney 
Johnston  was  put  at  the  head  of  the  expedition.  No 
better  man  could  have  been  found  for  the  task,  but 
he  came  too  late  to  save  the  force  from  the  humilia- 
tions prepared  for  it. 

The  slow-creeping  infantry  regiments  with  their 
huge  supply  trains  sprawled  across  hill  and  plain  were 
a  standing  invitation  to  attack;  and  at  last  the  invita- 
tion was  accepted.  As  soon  as  he  had  received 
Colonel  Alexander's  reply  to  Brigham,  Daniel  H. 
Wells,  commander  of  the  Mormon  forces,  issued  his 

295 


296  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

orders.  His  mounted  scouting  parties  were  to  burn 
the  grass  in  front  of  the  advancing  soldiers,  cut  off 
their  supplies,  steal  their  cattle,  burn  their  wagons, 
and  keep  them  from  sleeping.  One  strong  injunc- 
tion was  laid  on  the  Mormon  militia  in  carrying  out 
these  orders.  They  were  not  to  take  life  if  they 
could  by  any  means  avoid  it.  This  was  a  measure, 
less  of  humanity  than  of  foresight.  With  all  his  rav- 
ing and  ranting  in  the  pulpit,  Brigham  knew  that 
negotiation,  rather  than  fighting,  must  bring  him 
through  this  crisis,  and  he  wanted  no  bloodshed  to 
make  slippery  the  steps  of  diplomacy. 

The  Mormon  plans  were  absurdly  easy  to  put  into 
effect.  Lot  Smith,  with  forty- four  men,  was  first 
among  the  Saints  to  spoil  the  Gentiles.  On  October 
4,  1857,  Smith  came  upon  an  unarmed  supply  train, 
and  ordered  the  commander  of  it  to  turn  round,  and 
go  east  till  he  reached  the  States.  The  captain  obeyed 
as  long  as  the  Mormons  were  in  sight,  then  headed  for 
the  West  again.  At  this.  Smith  returned,  unloaded 
the  wagons,  left  the  drivers  to  their  own  devices,  and 
divided  his  little  force  for  further  raiding.  Twenty 
men  were  sent  to  stampede  the  mules  of  one  of  the 
regiments.  The  rest,  under  Smith,  performed  an  ex- 
ploit of  which  Mormon  writers  are  still  boasting. 
At  midnight  of  October  5,  they  held  up — there  is  no 
other  word  for  it — another  supply  train  consisting  of 
seventy-five  wagons,  and  burned  them  all.  These 
wagons  were  loaded  with  bacon,  ham,  coffee,  flour, 
hard-tack,  and  desiccated  vegetables;  and  their  loss 
was  an  expensive  mishap  for  the  government.  The 
next  day.  Smith  burned  some  more  wagons  about 
twenty  miles  away. 

Colonel  Alexander  was  helpless.     Well  mounted, 


END  OF  THE  MORMON  WAR  297 

and  knowing  the  country  as  if  it  were  their  door- 
yard,  the  Mormons  had  the  federal  infantry  netted. 
Alexander  had  no  instructions  as  to  the  government's 
wishes,  and  he  does  not  seem  to  have  been  a  man  who 
could  go  ahead  and  take  his  chances  without  instruc- 
tions. He  called  a  council  of  war,  at  which  it  was  de- 
cided to  turn  northward,  avoiding  the  canons  which 
were  known  to  be  fortified,  and  trying  to  reach  the 
Salt  Lake  valley  by  a  side  door.  It  might  have  been 
a  good  plan  for  a  cavalry  force  in  June;  but  for  a 
heavy,  slow-moving,  overloaded  expedition,  on  the 
very  edge  of  winter,  it  was  a  scheme  of  destruction. 
Trails  had  to  be  cut  through  the  heavy  brush,  the 
endless  wagon  trains  had  to  receive  some  sort  of  pro- 
tection; and  the  march  was  so  slow  that  often  the  ad- 
vance guard  was  making  camp  for  the  night  before 
the  rearmost  wagons  had  begun  to  move.  Mor- 
mon scouts  hung  on  the  flanks  of  the  floundering 
column,  and  one  night  cut  out  eight  hundred  oxen, 
which  were  driven  in  triumph  to  Salt  Lake  City. 
Alexander  mounted  some  infantry  on  mules;  but  the 
Mormons  only  laughed  at  the  "  jackass  cavalry " ; 
and  continued  their  depredations  unchecked.  After 
persisting  for  nine  days  and  covering  only  thirty-five 
miles.  Colonel  Alexander  called  a  new  council  of  war, 
turned  back  to  the  south,  and  made  for  Fort  Bridger. 
He  reached  that  place  November  2,  1857,  to  find 
that  the  Mormons  had  burned  all  the  buildings,  all 
the  wood,  and  all  the  trees  that  would  take  fire.  The 
next  day  Colonel  Johnston  arrived,  after  a  march 
which  gave  the  troops  a  foretaste  of  winter  campaign- 
ing in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  presence  of  this 
able  commander  quickly  restored  the  morale  of  the 
force,  but  the  passes  were  already  blocked  with  snow, 


298  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

the  army  was  nearly  destitute  of  horses,  and  there  was 
nothing  to  do  but  go  into  winter  quarters.  Accord- 
ingly, Camp  Scott  was  laid  out  near  the  ruins  of  Fort 
Bridger,  one  hundred  and  fifteen  miles  from  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  the  troops  soon  made  themselves  fairly  com- 
fortable. It  was  November  19  before  the  cavalry 
joined  them,  bringing  the  new  governor  in  their  train. 
These  troops  had  had  a  terrific  struggle  with  storms, 
and  the  journal  of  their  commander.  Colonel  Philip 
St.  George  Cooke,  reads  more  like  the  story  of  an 
expedition  in  Siberia  than  the  record  of  a  military 
advance  in  the  soldier's  own  country. 

This  was  the  crisis  of  the  "  war."  The  only  hon- 
ourable course,  the  only  safe  course  for  the  govern- 
ment, was  to  finish  the  task  it  had  begun,  no  matter 
what  the  cost  in  treasure  or  suffering.  The  nation 
had  been  flouted  and  defied,  its  property  destroyed  or 
carried  off  as  plunder,  its  troops  resisted,  its  officials 
denied  access  to  its  own  territory.  To  draw  back  at 
this  time  was  to  offer  direct  encouragement  to  re- 
bellion, to  announce  in  plain  terms  that  any  one  might 
defy  federal  authority  with  safety,  provided  the  de- 
fiance were  couched  in  loud  enough  tones.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  prompt  and  uncompromising  suppres- 
sion of  the  Utah  outbreak  would  have  strengthened 
the  hands  of  the  national  government  in  any  future 
stress,  and  would  have  done  something,  at  least,  to 
lessen  the  growing  popularity  of  secession. 

Unfortunately,  President  Buchanan  was  not  the 
man  to  strike  strong  blows  in  a  brave  cause.  He 
understood  the  situation  perfectly.  He  spoke  of  the 
need  so  to  assert  federal  authority  that  this  first  re- 
bellion should  likewise  be  the  last.  He  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  Congress,  explaining  his  action  in  sending  an 


END  OF  THE  MORMON  WAR  S99 

armed  force  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  demanding 
support,  which  was  rather  grudgingly  given.  Troops 
were  ordered  to  prepare  for  the  front,  General  Scott 
was  instructed  to  sail  for  California,  and  despatch  a 
force  to  Utah  from  that  direction.  There  was  brave 
talk  of  a  decisive  advance  in  the  spring.  But  it  was 
only  talk.  Even  while  the  President  was  writing  his 
message,  Brigham  was  undermining  his  purpose, 
stealing  away  his  confidence,  and  preparing  for  him 
a  cup  of  unmixed  humiliation.* 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  Brigham's  agent 
in  the  negotiations  now  begun  was  Colonel  Thomas 
L.  Kane.  Kane  alone  had  the  duplicity,  the  diplo- 
macy, the  social  standing,  and  the  absolute  devotion 
to  the  Mormon  cause  which  were  required  to  bring 
the  kingdom  through  this  crisis  without  disaster. 
Kane  had  vouched  for  Brigham's  purity  and  patriot- 
ism to  President  Fillmore.  President  Buchanan  now 
paid  this  official  debt  by  vouching  for  Kane.  He 
wrote  letters,  describing  the  wily  colonel  as  an  un- 
selfish philanthropist,  who  was  about  to  visit  Utah 
from  a  stern  sense  of  duty,  and  commending  him  to 
all  federal  officials  whom  he  might  meet.  With  these 
documents  in  his  pocket,  Kane  sailed  for  San  Fran- 
cisco in  January,  1858,  under  the  name  of  "  Dr. 
Osborne,"  and  from  California  made  his  way  to  Salt 
Lake  City.  There  he  had  an  extended  conference 
with  the  Twelve,  and  a  short  but  absolutely  private 
one  with  Brigham.  This  over,  after  a  short  rest, 
Kane  set  out  for  Camp  Scott,  to  meet  Alfred  Cum- 
ming,  the  new  governor  of  Utah. 

Cumming  was  a  good-natured,  bustling  individual; 

*The  President's  letters  were  dated  December  3,  1857.  His 
message  was  sent  to  Congress  December  8. 


800  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

pompous  without  being  dignified  and  intelligent  with- 
out being  sensible.  He  was  exactly  the  sort  of  man 
to  be  wrapped  around  the  finger  of  a  skilled  diplomat, 
and  doubtless  his  character  was  considered  in  shaping 
the  Mormon  plot.  Kane's  mission  in  Camp  Scott  was 
twofold.  First,  he  was  to  stir  up  trouble  between 
Governor  Gumming  and  General  Johnston,  so  that 
hearty  co-operation  between  them  should  be  impos- 
sible. Next,  he  was  to  persuade  Gumming  to  trust 
to  the  "  loyalty  "of  the  Mormons,  whom  Kane  rep- 
resented as  willing  to  accept  any  governor  the  Presi- 
dent might  send,  but  who  feared  persecution  from  the 
troops.  If  the  governor  would  first  show  his  confi- 
dence in  the  Mormons,  then  Brigham,  without  too 
obvious  a  backdown,  might  consent  to  take  the  gov- 
ernor's word  for  it  that  the  troops  would  be  put  to 
no  tyrannical  uses;  and  it  was  even  possible  that  rep- 
resentations from  Governor  Gumming  might  secure 
the  recall  of  the  army  altogether. 

Kane  performed  his  work  with  a  smooth  assurance 
which  baffles  comprehension  now  as  it  baffled  inter- 
ference then.  He  reached  Gamp  Scott  March  lo. 
Within  forty-eight  hours  he  had  established  an  un- 
derstanding with  Governor  Gumming,  and  picked  a 
quarrel — not  too  serious  a  one — with  General  John- 
ston. From  that  time  forward,  events  in  camp 
moved  with  the  regularity  of  a  text-book  game  of 
chess.  April  3 — ^just  twenty-four  days  after  Kane's 
arrival — Gumming  announced  that  he  was  going  to 
Salt  Lake  Gity  without  waiting  for  the  troops,  and 
intimated  his  confidence  that  he  could  bring  the  dis- 
pute to  a  satisfactory  ending. 

Two  days  later,  the  governor  started — of  course  in 
company   with    Kane.      The    Mormons    provided    a 


END  OF  THE  MORMON  WAR  301 

"guard  of  honour"  for  the  official  whom  they  had 
kept  cooling  his  heels  in  a  winter  camp  for  five  months 
— and  Gumming  accepted  the  attention.  Mormon 
talent  for  amateur  dramatics  never  showed  to  better 
advantage  than  in  this  journey  and  the  events  imme- 
diately following  it.  Echo  canon  had  been  provided 
with  the  usual  style  of  militia  fortifications;  walls 
and  rocks  and  ditches;  things  which  look  impregnable 
to  the  unprofessional  eye,  but  which  disciplined 
troops  are  accustomed  to  take  to  pieces  with  neatness 
and  despatch.  It  was  desired  to  give  Gumming  the 
impression  that  this  canon  was  garrisoned  in  force, 
and  the  trip  through  it  was  made  by  night.  Fires  were 
built  at  various  points  to  give  the  impression  of  a  large 
army — an  old  trick,  but  one  which  still  works.  Every 
little  distance  the  governor  was  challenged  by  a  group 
of  Argus-eyed  sentries.  It  was  the  same  group  each 
time;  for  while  he  was  being  taken  aside  and  quizzed, 
and  Kane  was  whispering  the  countersign  in  the  most 
approved  style  of  a  comic-opera  conspirator's  chorus, 
the  hard-working  sentinels  would  hasten  ahead,  and 
get  ready  to  challenge  the  incoming  Gentile  again. 
Probably  there  were  less  than  two  hundred  men  in 
the  canon,  but  to  the  governor  they  seemed  at  least 
as  many  thousands. 

Gumming  arrived  at  Salt  Lake  City  April  12,  1858, 
and  was  taken  to  the  home  of  a  prominent  Mormon 
elder.  Brigham  at  once  called  on  the  Gentile  gov- 
ernor, and  delivered  to  him  the  territorial  seal.  The 
plot  was  working  beautifully.  Three  days  after  his 
arrival,  Gumming  wrote  a  self-congratulatory  letter 
to  Johnston,  but  made  no  mention  of  a  forward  move 
of  troops.  His  second  Sunday  in  Salt  Lake  Gity,  Gov- 
ernor Gumming  was  asked  to  speak  in  the  Tabernacle, 


S02  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

where  another  bit  of  theatricals  had  been  arranged 
for  his  benefit.  The  governor  made  a  most  concilia- 
tory— not  to  say  abject  speech;  but  as  soon  as  h^ 
stopped,  a  large  number  of  the  audience  began  to  be- 
rate and  abuse  him,  calling  him  an  office-seeker  and 
— worst  insult  in  Mormon  vocabulary — a  Missourian. 
They  harangued  each  other  in  fiery  phrases  on  the 
wickedness  of  the  federal  government,  and  the  suffer- 
ings of  Zion  in  the  past;  and  testified  to  their  readi- 
ness to  fight  for  their  rights  and  their  religion.  Over 
all  presided  Brigham,  soothing  the  tumult  with  a  word 
when  it  grew  too  loud,  deprecating  the  grossness  of 
his  people's  language,  and  generally  showing  himself 
master  of  the  situation.  The  obvious  result  of  this 
performance  was  to  convince  Gumming  that  no  one 
could  govern  Utah  without  the  aid  of  Brigham 
Young.* 

Thus  far,  the  scheme  had  worked  admirably,  but 
the  kingdom  and  especially  the  chiefs  of  the  kingdom 
were  not  yet  out  of  danger.  The  federal  force  was 
not  composed  entirely  of  Alfred  Cummings.  Judge 
D.  R.  Eckles,  new  chief  justice  of  the  territory,  had 
called  a  grand  jury  at  Camp  Scott  during  the  winter, 
and  this  inquisitorial  body  had  indicted  Brigham 
Young  for  treason.  Similar  true  bills  were  found 
against  Heber  C.  Kimball,  General  Wells,  "Port" 
Rockwell,  "  Bill ''  Hickman,  and  a  number  of  others. 


*  Linn  and  other  writers  speak  of  this  performance  in  the  Taber- 
nacle as  designed  by  Brigham  to  show  his  flock  that  he  was 
not  surrendering.  Just  why  he  needed  such  a  demonstration  at 
this  time,  or  how  the  Tabernacle  meeting  could  have  provided  one 
if  he  did  need  it,  the  present  writers  are  unable  to  see.  It  was 
the  governor  who  needed  impressing  on  this  occasion,  not  the 
people ;  and  a  better  way  of  showing  Gumming  what  would  hap- 
pen to  him  if  he  quarrelled  with  Brigham  is  not  easy  to  imagine. 


END  OF  THE  MORMON  WAR  303 

Such  indictments  were  embarassing  to  the  Saints,  the 
more  so  since  Judge  Eckles  was  standing  on  his  dignity 
and  refusing  to  enter  Salt  Lake  City  till  the  flag  of  his 
country  was  flying  there.  General  Johnston,  too,  was 
contumacious;  he  plainly  had  no  faith  in  the  patriot- 
ism, loyalty,  or  good  intentions  in  any  way  of  Brig- 
ham  and  his  aids;  and  at  this  time.  General  Johnston 
was  still  free  to  use  his  troops  in  support  of  the 
judge,  without  asking  consent  of  the  governor. 

Under  such  circumstances,  the  natural  strategy 
would  be  for  Young  and  his  fellows  in  trouble  to 
keep  out  of  the  way  until  representations  could  be 
made  at  Washington  which  would  get  them  a  par- 
don, or  until  the  troops  could  be  recalled.  But  Brig- 
ham  had  no  notion  of  playing  the  part  of  a  lone  fugi- 
tive, nor  of  pleading  for  mercy  from  the  government 
he  had  insulted  and  defied.  Whatever  one  may  think 
of  his  general  character,  however  one  may  reprobate 
his  undisguised  treason,  the  candid  student  must  ad- 
mit that  Brigham's  nerve  and  daring  at  this  juncture 
approach  the  sublime.  Instead  of  drawing  his  stake 
and  quitting  the  game,  now  that  fate  had  favoured 
him  for  the  moment,  he  pushed  his  winnings  back  on 
the  board  to  play  for  all  or  nothing.  He  had  cap- 
tured the  Gentile  governor  without  a  fight.  Very 
well;  he  would  now  disarm  the  federal  judiciary  and 
tie  the  hands  of  the  federal  commander;  or  he  would 
carry  out  his  threat  to  make  the  valley  a  desert. 

Practically  the  whole  population  of  Salt  Lake  City 
and  the  northern  settlements  deserted  their  homes  at 
Brigham's  counsel,  and  moved  southward  to  camp  by 
the  shores  of  Utah  lake.  They  took  with  them  arms 
and  provisions,  and  such  household  furniture  as  could 
be  of  use  in  camp  life;  but  their  heavier  property 


304.  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

was  left  behind.  Each  man  on  leaving  his  house  fixed 
it  so  as  to  burn  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Shavings  and 
kindling  were  placed  handy,  and  a  squad  of  deter- 
mined men  were  assigned  to  the  task  of  applying  the 
torch  when  Brigham  should  give  the  word. 

It  was  a  deliberate  and  superb  defiance;  but  it  was 
never  carried  out.  Had  President  Buchanan  owned  a 
tithe  of  Brigham's  daring  stubbornness,  there  would 
be  no  Mormon  problem  in  America  to-day,  and  the 
history  of  the  Civil  war  might  have  read  somewhat 
differently.  Even  while  Governor  Gumming  was  be- 
ing treated  to  carefully  arranged  theatricals  in  Echo 
canon,  President  Buchanan  was  making  a  practical 
surrender  of  federal  authority  over  Utah.  April  6, 
1858 — on  the  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the 
church — he  issued  a  proclamation  on  Utah  affairs. 
After  a  blustering  prelude  which  merely  emphasized 
the  weakness  of  the  document,  the  President  con- 
tinued : 

"  Being  anxious  to  save  the  effusion  of  blood,  and  to 
avoid  the  indiscriminate  punishment  of  a  whole  people 
for  crimes  of  which  it  is  not  probable  that  all  are  equally 
guilty,  I  offer  now  a  free  and  full  pardon  to  all  who  will 
submit  themselves  to  the  just  authority  of  the  federal 
government.*' 

Senator-elect  L.  W.  Powell  of  Kentucky  and  Major 
Ben  McCullough,  a  Texas  veteran  of  the  Mexican 
war,  were  appointed  peace  commission  to  carry  this 
amnesty  to  the  Mormons,  and  "  bring  those  mis- 
guided people  to  their  senses."  These  commissioners 
reached  Salt  Lake  City  June  7,  1858.  Four  days  later, 
they  held  a  conference  in  the  Tabernacle  with  Brig- 


END  OF  THE  MORMON  WAR  305 

ham  and  his  aids,  who  had  come  back  from  their 
camp  on  Utah  lake  for  this  purpose.  A  considerable 
number  of  their  followers  had  accompanied  them, 
and  with  these  and  the  population  remaining  in  the 
city,  the  building  was  crowded.  While  the  conference 
was  in  progress,  "  Port "  Rockwell  rode  up  to  the 
building  on  a  foaming  horse,  and  entering,  informed 
Brigham  that  the  troops  were  marching  toward  the 
city.  Brigham  stepped  to  the  front  of  the  platform 
and  called  out: 

"  Is  Brother  Dunbar  present  ?  '' 

Brother  Dunbar,  a  Scotchman  and  precentor  of  the 
Mormon  congregation,  was  present.  On  receiving 
this  assurance,  Brigham  gave  the  order: 

"  Brother  Dunbar,  sing  Zion !  " 

"  Zion "  was  the  chief  military  hymn,  the  Mar- 
seillaise, of  the  Mormons,  if  the  bones  of  Rouget  de 
risle  do  not  resent  the  comparison.  Brother  Dunbar 
immediately  led  off  in  the  hymn,  and  the  whole  con- 
gregation joined  in  singing: 

"  Here  our  voices  we'll  raise  and  we'll  sing  to  thy  praise, 
Sacred  home  of  the  prophets  of  God ; 
Thy  deliverance  is  nigh, 
Thy  oppressors  shall  die 

And  the  Gentiles  shall  bow  'neath  thy  rod ! " 

Tullidge,  pro-Mormon  historian,  is  kind  enough  to 
explain  that  this  lapse  into  poetry  meant :  "  Stop  that 
army,  or  our  peace  conference  is  ended !  "  The  army 
could  not  be  stopped,  for  it  had  not  yet  started;  Major 
McCullough  of  the  peace  commission  remained  quite 
unimpressed;  but  the  singing  and  the  subsequent 
harangues  were  not  without  their  value.     They  en^ 


306  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

abled  Brigham  to  consent  to  the  presence  of  the  sol- 
diers without  seeming  to  back  down,  and  that  was 
the  only  difficulty  remaining.  President  Buchanan 
liad  conceded  everything  else.  The  next  day,  June  12, 
Brigham  delivered  another  harangue.  He  denied  that 
the  Mormons  had  done  anything  which  required  the 
President's  pardon,  except,  perhaps,  to  burn  a  few 
wagon  trains.  This  was  a  justifiable  act  under  the 
circumstances;  but  if  the  President  wanted  to  pardon 
them  for  it,  he  was  welcome  to  do  so.  Warming  to 
his  subject,  Brigham  went  on: 

"  We  have  the  God  of  Israel— the  God  of  battles — on 
our  side;  and  let  me  tell  you,  gentlemen,  we  fear  not 
your  armies.  I  can  take  a  few  of  the  boys  here,  and  with 
the  help  of  the  Lord,  can  whip  the  whole  United  States. 
.  .  .  The  United  States  are  going  to  destruction  as  fast 
as  they  can  go.  If  you  do  not  believe  it,  gentlemen,  you 
will  soon  see  it  to  your  sorrow.  It  will  be  with  them  like 
a  broken  potsherd.  Yes,  it  will  be  like  water  spilled 
on  the  ground,  no  more  to  be  picked  up. 

"  Now,  let  me  say  to  you  peace  commissioners,  we  are 
willing  those  troops  should  come  into  our  country,  but 
not  to  stay  in  our  city.  They  may  pass  through,  if  needs 
be,  but  they  must  not  quarter  less  than  forty  miles  from 
us!" 


The  commissioners  were  there  under  express  or- 
ders to  make  peace,  not  to  punish  impudence;  there- 
fore this  statement  was  all  they  required.  The 
"  war  "  w^as  practically  over. 

Meanwhile,  General  Johnston  had  been  waiting  the 
arrival  of  horses  and  supplies,  not  for  the  report  of 
the  peace""CDmmissioners.     These  reached  him  sooner 


\ 


END  OF  THE  MORMON  WAR  307 

than  he  expected,  and  on  June  13,  1858,  he  broke 
camp,  and  began  the  march  to  Salt  Lake  City.  It  is  a 
fair  inference  that  this  clear-headed,  soldierly  man 
hoped  against  hope  that  he  might  come  into  some  col- 
lision with  the  Nauvoo  Legion  which  would  justify  him 
in  putting  his  soldiers  to  work;  but  if  so,  he  was  dis- 
appointed. On  June  14,  word  of  the  "  peace  "'  reached 
him.  He  sent  ahead  a  dignified  statement,  that  no 
citizen  of  Utah  who  obeyed  the  laws  had  anything 
to  fear  from  the  federal  soldiery.  On  June  26,  he 
entered  Salt  Lake  City.  It  was  like  a  city  of  the  dead. 
Not  a  flag  waved  from  any  public  building,  not  a 
citizen  was  out  of  doors,  not  a  window  was  open. 
Mrs.  Cumming,  wife  of  the  governor,  was  literally 
the  only  woman  in  the  city.  The  troops  marched  in 
perfect  order  through  the  town,  and  camped  on  the 
Jordan,  still  within  the  city  limits.  After  a  couple 
of  days  in  this  camp,  they  moved  west  and  south,  and 
on  July  6,  formed  Camp  Floyd  in  Cedar  Valley,  at  al- 
most the  prescribed  distance  of  forty  miles  from  Salt 
Lake  City. 

Thus  closed  the  "Mormon  war";  in  unmitigated 
humiliation  for  the  federal  government,  in  almost  un- 
mixed triumph  for  the  Mormon  kingdom.  Brigham 
Young  and  Colonel  Kane  had  tricked,  outwitted,  and 
brought  to  naught  the  overwhelming  might  of  the 
United  States.  There  are  few  more  astonishing  and 
fewer  more  disgraceful  chapters  in  our  history.  A 
clique  of  polygamous  priests,  holding  despotic  sway 
over  a  handful  of  people,  were  allowed  to  insult,  defy, 
and  make  war  upon  the  nation;  and  then,  without 
retracting  their  insults,  without  apologizing  for  their 
rebellion,  without  being  beaten  or  punished  in  any 
way,   they   were   given  a   pardon   which   they   con- 


308  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

temptuously  denied  needing,  and  left  in  complete 
though  informal  mastery  of  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant territories  in  the  United  States.  The  daring,  the 
adroitness,  the  resourcefulness  of  Brigham  and  of 
Kane,  and  the  unreckoning  devotion  of  the  Mormon 
people  are  worthy  of  all  praise;  but  the  weakness  and 
inefficiency  of  the  federal  administration  can  scarcely 
receive  too  great  a  measure  of  contempt. 

For  the  Mormon  war,  as  even  Buchanan  recog- 
nized, was  the  knock  of  opportunity  at  the  gate  of  the 
federal  union.  Here  was  the  chance,  at  little  com- 
parative cost  of  life  and  treasure,  to  assert  the  su- 
preme authority  of  the  nation,  to  rouse  the  latent 
Americanism  in  every  community  where  national 
sentiment  was  yielding  before  the  propaganda  of  se- 
cession. Had  Buchanan  dealt  with  rebellion  in  Utah 
as  President  Cleveland  dealt  with  anarchy  in  Chicago, 
the  rally  of  national  feeling  might  have  begun  three 
years  before  it  was  waked  at  Fort  Sumter.  No  sin- 
gle administration,  perhaps  no  succession  of  adminis- 
trations could  have  averted  the  Civil  war  altogether. 
But  a  very  slight  shift  of  sentiment  would  have  kept 
Virginia  in  the  Union;  and  had  Robert  E.  Lee  and 
*'  Stonewall  "  Jackson  stayed  with  their  state  instead  of 
going  out  with  her,  there  would  have  been  a  different 
tale  to  tell  of  the  days  of  *6i. 


XXX 

A  PROFIT-SEEKING  PROPHET 

IN  spite  of  the  governor's  friendship,  the  Presi- 
dent's pardon,  and  the  reassuring  despatch  of 
General  Johnston,  the  Mormons  camped  by  Utah 
lake  did  not  immediately  return  to  their  homes. 
Brigham  was  still  suspicious,  both  of  the  army  and 
of  its  commander;  and  he  knew  that  the  federal 
judges  bore  him  no  good  will.  Governor  Gumming 
bustled  about,  swearing  that  the  amnesty  should  be 
kept,  that  no  one  need  fear  anything — saying  "  No, 
sir!  By  God,  sir!" — ^and  generally  making  himself 
a  model  of  pompous  incompetence.  No  one  paid  any 
attention  to  him — a  fact  which  does  not  seem  to 
have  lessened  his  good  humour  in  the  least. 
Brigham  waited  until  satisfied  that  the  troops  were 
under  perfect  discipline,  and  that  General 
Johnston  had  no  night-riding  tendencies.  Then, 
on  July  5,  the  uncrowned  emperor  climbed  on 
his  wagon  at '  the  camp  by  the  lake,  and  told  his 
people  that  he  was  going  home.  The  return  began 
at  once. 

But  it  was  not  a  return  to  the  care-free,  irrespon- 
sible dominion  he  had  enjoyed  before.  Brigham's 
power  was  almost  as  great  as  ever;  but  he  was 
obliged  to  be  more  circumspect  in  the  use  of  it.  He 
remained  ruler  of  the  kingdom,  but  now  he  found  it 
necessary  to  rule  with  some  slight  regard  for  "  for- 
eign "  public  opinion.    Even  so  slight  a  restraint  was 

309 


810  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

irksome  to  the  free-spoken  despot,  and  for  a  time  he 
— or  his  people — had  some  apprehensions  for  his  per- 
sonal safety.  Wherever  he  went,  a  small  but  devoted 
bodyguard  attended  him,  and  a  watch  was  kept  over 
the  house  where  he  passed  the  night. 

This  fear  was  not  wholly  without  foundation.  The 
new  federal  judges  appointed  to  Utah  were  of  higher 
character  than  most  of  their  predecessors.  But  they 
were  endowed  with  long  memories,  and  they  did  not 
grasp  the  necessity  of  ignoring  past  political  offences. 
At  the  November  term  of  court  in  1858,  Judge  Sin- 
clair tried  to  secure  the  arrest  of  Brigham  and  his 
aids  on  the  indictments  for  treason  found  against 
them  the  previous  winter.  He  admitted  that  the  Presi- 
dent's pardon  covered  these  offences,  but  insisted  that 
this  pardon  must  be  pleaded  in  court;  that  it  was  a 
bar  to  punishment,  but  not  to  arrest.  This  may  have 
been  good  law,  but  in  the  existing  condition  of  Utah 
affairs,  it  was  bad  sense.  The  president  had  chosen 
to  forgive  the  Mormon  leaders.  There  was  nothing 
to  do  but  accept  that  pardon  as  a  fact,  close  accounts, 
open  a  new  set  of  books,  and  start  afresh.  To  fail 
in  this,  to  seek  to  humiliate  Brigham  and  Heber  Kim- 
ball was  to  repeat  the  blunder  of  the  Mormon  chiefs, 
who,  by  their  everlasting  harping  on  their  trials  in 
Missouri  and  Illinois,  were  giving  to  their  followers 
an  almost  incurable  case  of  political  jaundice.  The 
United  States  district  attorney,  wiser  than  Judge  Sin- 
clair, refused  to  take  any  action  in  the  matter,  and 
this  first  clash  passed  harmlessly. 

There  were  offences  not  covered  by  any  mantle  of 
forgiveness,  however;  and  with  such  Judge  Cradle- 
baugh  came  in  contact  when  he  held  court  in  south- 
ern Utah.     The  story  of  Mountain  Meadows  had 


A  PROFIT-SEEKING  PROPHET         311 

leaked  out.  Some  doings  of  the  "reformation"  had 
come  to  light.  Cradlebaugh  made  a  personal  investi- 
gation of  these  crimes,  and — not  unnaturally — seemed 
to  lose  his  sense  of  judicial  propriety  in  anger  at  the 
ecclesiastical  tyranny  which  could  permit  or  promote 
such  atrocities.  Cradlebaugh  became  convinced  that 
Brigham  and  his  aids  were  not  only  morally  but 
legally  responsible  for  Mountain  Meadows.  In  the 
full  belief  that  he  had  found  a  way  to  break  up  the 
Mormon  hierarchy,  the  judge  called  a  grand  jury  at 
Provo  in  March,  1859.  He  laid  before  them  the  facts 
he  had  collected  and  the  opinions  he  had  formed,  and 
practically  ordered  them  to  return  indictments,  not 
only  against  actual  participants  in  the  various  out- 
rages, but  against  the  heads  of  the  church.  In  order 
to  protect  the  court  and  witnesses  from  Mormon  ven- 
geance. Judge  Cradlebaugh  had  a  detachment  of 
soldiers  from  Camp  Floyd  stationed  at  Provo. 

It  was  a  bad  move  in  a  good  cause;  but  if  it  had 
no  other  effect,  it  at  least  showed  the  marvellous 
solidarity  of  Brigham's  empire.  Judge  Cradlebaugh 
had  supposed  that  the  Mormons  were  held  in  eccle- 
siastical bondage  through  terror,  that  they  would 
break  away  gladly  the  moment  they  were  assured  of 
protection.  The  Spartan  king  who  thought  to  rouse 
the  people  of  Alexandria  by  the  cry  of  "  Liberty ! " 
was  not  more  grievously  disappointed.  The  whole 
Mormon  community  blazed  forth  in  indignation  at 
the  judge  who  dared  accuse  their  holy  priests  of  crime, 
and  who  proclaimed  that  the  law  of  the  land  was 
higher  than  the  law  of  God,  as  revealed  through  the 
mouth  of  His  prophet.  The  grand  jury  refused  to 
return  indictments.  Judge  Cradlebaugh  issued  bench 
warrants,  but  they  could  not  be  served.    The  whole 


312  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

community  closed  ranks  and  acted  as  one  man  in  pro- 
tection of  their  hierarchy.  Governor  Gumming  or- 
dered the  troops  at  Provo  to  return  to  Camp  Floyd. 
General  Johnston  replied  that  Cradlebaugh  had  asked 
for  protection  and  should  have  it.  In  spite  of  the 
soldiers,  in  spite  of  his  own  unjudicial  zeal,  Cradle- 
baugh's  efforts  came  to  nothing.  At  last,  he  entered 
on  the  docket  a  minute  that  the  whole  population 
seemed  leagued  to  defeat  justice,  and  adjourned  court 
without  day  in  a  bitter  speech,  whose  unseemly 
phrases  are  kept  alive  by  Mormon  historians  even  yet. 

The  matter  of  military  protection  for  the  courts 
was  appealed  to  Washington,  and  decided  against 
Judge  Cradlebaugh.  President  Buchanan  held  that 
the  governor  alone  had  a  right  to  make  requisition 
for  troops,  and  that  the  judges  must  prefer  their  re- 
quests through  him.  It  was  a  proper,  indeed,  an  in- 
evitable decision;  but  it  completed  the  triumph  of 
Brigham,  and  showed  that  in  stirring  up  strife  be- 
tween Governor  Gumming  and  General  Johnston, 
Colonel  Kane  had  builded  better  than  he  knew.  The 
governor  hated  the  commander  with  all  the  venom 
that  pompous  inefficiency  feels  for  haughty  com- 
petency. The  soldiers  could  scarcely  have  had  less 
effect  on  the  administration  of  Utah  if  they  had  been 
camped  on  the  Missouri  river. 

Hardly  had  Cradlebaugh's  scheme  of  redemption 
come  to  an  inglorious  end  at  Provo  than  a  yet  sharper 
excitement  broke  out  at  Salt  Lake  City.  A  Gentile 
named  Brewer  had  conceived  the  plan  of  counterfeit- 
ing the  notes  drawn  by  the  quartermaster  at  Camp 
Floyd  on  the  assistant  treasurer  of  the  United  States. 
A  counterfeit  plate  was  engraved  by  a  young  Mormon 
artist,  who  is  said  not  to  have  known  the  purpose  for 


A  PROFIT-SEEKING  PROPHET         31S 

which  his  work  was  required.  The  fraud  was  de- 
tected, Brewer  was  arrested,  and  immediately  tried 
to  clear  himself  by  confessing  and  offering  to  turn 
state's  evidence.  He  implicated  Brigham  in  the 
plot.  A  writ  was  issued  for  Brigham's  arrest,  and 
officers  from  Camp  Floyd  asked  Governor  Gumming 
to  deputize  them  to  seize  the  Mormon  king.  Gum- 
ming indignantly  refused  to  have  any  part  in  the  plan. 
A  few  days  later,  word  was  brought  to  Salt  Lake 
Gity  that  General  Johnston  was  preparing  to  make 
a  night  march  on  the  city  for  the  purpose  of  arrest- 
ing the  heads  of  the  church.  The  story  was  false; 
but  without  waiting  for  confirmation.  Governor  Gum- 
ming ordered  General  Wells  to  call  out  the  Nauvoo 
Legion,  and  prepare  to  repel  the  threatened  "  inva- 
sion ! ''  In  a  few  hours,  five  thousand  armed  Mor- 
mons had  gathered  for  the  fight. 

The  charge  against  Brigham  of  counterfeiting  was 
both  malignant  and  absurd;  though  whether  Gum- 
ming was  wise  in  refusing  to  permit  a  judicial  ex- 
amination of  that  charge  may  well  be  doubted.  The 
point  worth  noting  in  this  episode  is  the  completeness 
with  which  Brigham  controlled  the  official  head  of  the 
territory.  Little  more  than  a  year  had  passed  since 
Gumming  was  cooling  his  heels  in  a  mountain  camp, 
waiting  for  federal  troops  to  disperse  the  rebellious 
Nauvoo  Legion,  and  seat  him  in  the  governor's  chair. 
Now,  from  that  very  chair,  he  was  calling  on  these 
same  rebels  to  resist  the  troops  who  had  brought  him 
to  the  city.  The  federal  governor  had  become  a  mere 
cog  in  Brigham's  political  machine.  American  his- 
tory holds  few,  if  any,  more  striking  instances  of  the 
triumph  of  personal  ascendency  over  official  power. 

With  the  military  arm  thus  effectually  bound,  the 


314  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

army  soon  became  a  source  of  revenue,  rather  than 
of  fear.  Brigham  at  first  preached  strict  non-inter- 
course between  the  Saints  of  Zion  and  the  sinners  of 
Camp  Floyd;  but  his  practice  did  not  square  with  his 
precepts  and  the  doctrine  of  quarantine  was  soon 
abandoned  altogether.  A  number  of  Gentile  mer- 
chants with  Mormon  connections  established  trading- 
houses  at  the  camp;  and  supplied — for  a  consideration 
— goods  for  Uncle  Sam's  soldiers,  and  for  the  numer- 
ous camp  followers  who  trail  after  an  army.  The 
Walker  brothers,  whom  we  shall  soon  find  in  open 
and  not  unsuccessful  opposition  to  Brigham,  got  their 
real  start  in  merchandising  at  Camp  Floyd.  But 
Brigham,  as  might  have  been  expected,  took  a  larger 
profit  than  any  of  his  followers.  On  representations 
that  no  flour  could  be  had  in  Utah,  a  contract  had 
been  let  by  the  government  to  bring  this  article  from 
the  Missouri  valley  to  Camp  Floyd  at  the  outrageous 
price  of  $28.40  per  hundred  pounds.  The  price  of 
flour  in  Utah  was  $6  per  hundred.  Brigham  and  the 
contractors  got  together,  the  troops  were  fed  on  flour 
from  the  Mormon  tithing-house,  the  contractors  made 
a  tremendous  profit,  and  it  is  fair  to  believe  that  they 
made  an  equitable  division  of  their  plunder  with  the 
"  Lion  of  the  Lord."  Many  faults  have  been  laid  to 
his  charge,  but  Brigham  Young  was  never  accused  of 
the  profitless  weakness  of  being  easy  to  cheat. 

The  presence  of  federal  troops  and  judges  could 
not  even  save  the  lives  of  persons  whom  the  kingdom 
wished  to  execute.  Such  matters  had  to  be  handled 
more  circumspectly  than  in  the  days  of  the  *'  refor- 
mation," and  minor  church  officials  no  longer  dared 
assume  to  dispense  the  high  justice,  the  middle,  and 
the  low.     But   the   man  who   incurred   the   serious 


A  PROFIT-SEEKING  PROPHET         315 

enmity  of  the  hierarchy,  unless  protected  by  high 
character  and  corresponding  influence,  had  short 
shrift.  For  example.  Brewer,  the  man  who  had  ac- 
cused Brigham  of  complicity  in  counterfeiting,  was 
shot  one  night  while  walking  in  company  with  a 
gambler.  The  coroner's  jury  next  day  declared  that 
the  two  men  had  shot  each  other.  No  one  in  Utah 
believed  the  ridiculous  verdict,  but  it  stood.  Brewer 
had  sou^t  to  defile  the  Lord's  anointed,  and  death 
w^as  his  only  possible  punishment.  The  killing  of  the 
gambler  was  a  by-product,  so  to  speak.  No  one  had 
any  especial  reason  for  wishing  him  dead;  but  he  was 
in  the  way;  and  the  life  of  a  gambler  never  has  been 
esteemed  very  highly  in  western  communities.  The 
soldiers  were  not  allowed  to  come  to  the  city;  but 
camp  followers  could  not  be  put  under  the  same  re- 
straint. A  considerable  street  was  given  over  to 
saloons  and  disorderly  houses  designed  to  cater  to 
this  new  class  of  custom — though  it  is  not  to  be  sup- 
posed that  Gentiles  alone  visited  this  quarter.  Kill- 
ings in  this  neighbourhood  were  frequent  and  ex- 
cited little  attention.  If  perchance  any  one  was  ar- 
rested for  a  "  Whiskey  Street  "  offence,  the  odds  were 
against  his  being  brought  to  trial.  The  "ley  fuga" 
was  as  well  established  in  Utah  at  this  time  as  in  the 
Mexico  of  the  Diaz  regime;  and  seriously  undesirable 
citizens  who  got  into  the  Salt  Lake  City  jail — espe- 
cially if  under  guard  of  ''  Port "  Rockwell — ac- 
quired the  habit  of  being  "  killed  while  attempting  to 
escape." 

The  only  cloud  that  menaced  Brigham's  supremacy 
during  this  period  was  a  design  to  remove  Governor 
Gumming.  General  Johnston  and  other  officers  had 
not  been  slow  in  reporting  the  governor's  subservience 


316  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

to  the  Mormon  hierarchy;  and  President  Buchanan 
determined  to  replace  the  compliant  official  with  some 
one  more  nearly  capable  of  asserting  federal  authority. 
From  this  danger,  Brigham  was  saved  once  more  by 
Colonel  Kane.  Rising  from  the  bed  where  he  was 
confined  with  pleurisy,  when  every  word  and  move- 
ment cost  him  a  pang.  Colonel  Kane  delivered  a  lec- 
ture on  "  the  situation  in  Utah  "  before  the  Historical 
Society  of  New  York.  He  declared  that  the  Mor- 
mons were  divided  into  two  parties :  one  of  fire-eaters, 
who  wanted  war  with  the  federal  government;  and 
one,  headed  by  Brigham,  who  were  determined  to 
keep  the  peace.  He  praised  Governor  Cumming  in 
the  highest  degree,  as  the  ideal  man  to  cope  with  the 
difficult  situation.  Mormon  officials  in  New  York 
saw  to  it  that  this  lecture  was  reported  in  the  press 
throughout  the  East;  and  Buchanan  was  forced  to 
halt.  He  had  himself  praised  Kane's  exalted  patriot- 
ism, and  attested  his  superior  knowledge  of  all  Utah 
affairs;  and  now  he  was  powerless  before  the  reputa- 
tion he  had  helped  to  build. 

This  is  the  last  time  we  shall  meet  Colonel  Kane 
in  this  history  and  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  pause  a 
moment  in  contemplation  of  his  character.  That 
character  was  one  which  Richelieu  or  Charles  Second 
would  have  appraised  more  correctly  than  did  Presi- 
dent Buchanan  or  General  Johnston.  It  is  one  of  the 
conventions  of  English-speaking  lands  that  the  brave 
man  is  ever  truthful;  that  the  untruthful  man  is  ever 
cowardly;  that  false-speaking  is  so  corrosive  a  poison 
that  it  destroys  the  whole  moral  nature,  and  leaves  the 
liar  a  whited  sepulchre,  filled  with  all  uncleanness,  and 
empty  of  all  soundness  or  virtue.  The  persistence  of 
this  theory  is  due  to  the  Anglo-Saxon's  skill  in  de- 


A  PROFIT-SEEKING  PROPHET         S17 

ceiving  himself,  rather  than  to  his  reluctance  in  de- 
ceiving others;  and  the  single  case  of  Colonel  Kane 
upsets  the  notion  altogether. 

Kane  was  a  man  of  unblushing  mendacity  and  un- 
faltering courage;  and  both  qualities  were  used  for 
the  advantage  of  others,  rather  than  of  himself.  In 
his  zeal  for  the  Mormon  cause,  he  stopped  at  no  false- 
hood and  hesitated  at  no  danger.  He  believed  it  his 
task  to  save  the  Mormon  church  from  the  destruction 
which  Gentiles  were  plotting  against  it;  and  nothing 
was  allowed  to  interfere  with  that  sacred  mission.  In 
a  letter  to  President  Fillmore,  Kane  denounced  the 
"  spiritual  wife  story  "  as  an  unmixed  outrage — when 
he  must  have  had  personal  acquaintance  with  at  least 
half  a  dozen  of  Brigham's  plural  wives.  When  so 
weak  from  illness  that  most  men  in  like  condition 
would  have  deemed  it  an  act  of  courage  to  go  to  a 
well-warmed  office,  Kane  wallowed  through  snow- 
filled  canons  to  Camp  Scott,  to  turn  aside  the  threat- 
ened blow  at  the  Mormon  hierarchy.  Reaching  camp, 
he  dared  the  fire  of  the  sentry,  broke  the  astonished 
soldier's  head  with  his  own  musket,  and  challenged 
the  commanding  officer  to  a  duel.  He  did  these 
things,  not  from  passion,  but  deliberately  to  secure 
attention,  to  show  his  contempt  for  General  John- 
ston, and  give  point  to  his  subtle  flattery  of  Governor 
Gumming.  The  event  proved  the  correctness  of  his 
reasoning. 

Such  a  man  never  fails  to  win  unsparing  curses 
from  enemies,  and  unmeasured  praise  from  friends. 
Praises  and  curses  alike  are  deserved;  but  neither, 
standing  alone,  give  a  picture  of  the  man.  Kane 
earned  condemnation  from  the  United  States  govern- 
ment; and  escaped  it.     He  earned  canonization  from 


318  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

the  Mormon  hierarchy;  and  received  it.  He  deserves 
from  history  only  the  just  and  unprejudiced  estimate 
which  belongs  to  every  man;  and  this  the  present 
writers  have  tried  to  accord.  Had  Kane  done  for 
himself  what  he  did  for  others,  he  would  have  been 
an  unmitigated  scoundrel.  Had  his  honour  been  equal 
to  his  unselfish  devotion,  he  would  have  been  well- 
nigh  a  saint.  The  combination  left  him  a  strange, 
baffling  man,  a  figure  that  at  once  attracts  and  repels; 
an  ecclesiastical  diplomat,  with  the  mien  of  a  soldier, 
a  warrior  in  the  habit  of  a  priest. 


XXXI 

SPOILING  THE  GENTILES 

RELIEVED  of  the  danger  of  a  new  and  less  pli- 
able governor  by  Colonel  Kane's  final  bit  of 
diplomacy,  Brigham  and  his  people  could  now 
rest  in  peace  and  enjoy  the  troubles  of  the  nation  which 
had  "persecuted"  the  Saints.  Their  enjoyment  was 
the  keener  because  these  troubles  came  as  the  fulfilment 
of  prophecy.  Joseph  Smith  had  foretold  in  1832  that 
civil  war  would  come  to  the  American  republic,  be- 
ginning with  the  revolt  of  South  Carolina.  If  Joseph 
had  been  wise  enough  to  hang  up  the  receiver  at  this 
point,  his  fame  would  be  more  lasting  among  those 
contumacious  Gentiles  who  insist  on  looking  into  the 
machinery  of  miracles.  But  he  must  needs  go  on  to 
predict  an  uprising  of  negro  slaves,  and  a  devastating 
war  with  Great  Britain;  and  lack  of  accuracy  in  these 
small  matters  has  distracted  attention  from  the  proph- 
ecy which  came  true. 

Indeed,  it  required  no  seer  to  foretell  something 
of  the  storm  about  to  break  on  the  too-confident 
nation.  President  Buchanan  had  shown  his  fear  of 
such  a  misfortune  and  recognized  the  best  way  to 
avert  it,  when  he  spoke  in  his  message  to  Congress 
of  the  necessity  of  treating  the  Utah  uprising  in  such 
a  way  that  this  first  rebellion  should  likewise  be  the 
last.  Instead  of  carrying  out  his  own  sound  recom- 
mendation, the  President  had  so  behaved  as  to  en- 
courage treason  and  stimulate  secession. 

819 


S«0  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Most  of  the  troops  at  Camp  Floyd  were  sent  to 
New  Mexico  early  in  i860.  In  March  of  the  same 
year,  General  Johnston  returned  to  the  "  States  "  by 
way  of  California,  leaving  Colonel  Philip  St.  George 
Cooke  in  command.  That  fall  brought  the  triumph  of 
the  Republican  party,  with  its  doctrine  that  polygamy 
and  slavery  were  twin  relics  of  barbarism;  the  election 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  the  certainty  of  civil  war.  In 
May,  1 86 1,  Governor  Gumming  went  back  to  his  be- 
loved Georgia,  leaving  the  territory  so  quietly  that  few 
knew  of  his  departure  till  they  saw  it  mentioned  in 
the  local  paper.  Then  came  orders  from  Washington 
for  Colonel  Cooke  to  abandon  the  post,  sell  all  stores 
which  could  not  with  profit  be  carried  back  across 
the  plains,  and  bring  the  soldiers  east  to  fight  for  the 
very  life  of  the  nation. 

Up  to  this  time,  the  Saints  had  received  only  a 
sentimental  satisfaction  from  the  troubles  of  the  un- 
godly. Now,  they  were  to  reap  a  pecuniary  reward 
"as  well.  Thanks  to  the  activity  of  contractors  and  the 
complaisance — to  use  no  harsher  word — of  former 
Secretary  of  War  Floyd,  there  were  some  $4,000,000 
worth  of  government  property  at  Camp  Floyd,  aside 
from  weapons,  ammunition,  and  rations  needed  on 
the  march.  These  were  now  thrown  on  the  market 
at  forced  sale — and  there  were  none  but  Mormons  to 
buy.  The  result  may  be  guessed.  Four  million  dol- 
lars* worth  of  goods  changed  hands  for  not  more  than 
$100,000.  Flour  for  which  the  government  had  paid 
$28.40  per  sack  was  bought  for  52  cents  per  sack; 
though  the  standard  tithing  price  at  that  time  was  $6. 
Surplus  uniforms  and  clothing  were  sold  for  about 
the  price  of  the  wool  required  to  make  the  cloth. 
Army  bacon  was  sold  at  a  cent  a  pound.    Tools  and 


SPOILING  THE  GENTILES  821 

materials  of  all  sorts  were  sacrificed  at  similar  rates. 
It  was  the  harvest  of  the  gold  rush  over  again — ^with  \ 
the  added  pleasure  of  spoiling  the  Egyptians. 

Brigham  was  the  chief  buyer  on  this  occasion.  He 
invested  nearly  $50,000 — ^practically  as  much  as  all 
other  buyers  put  together — and  his  bargains  were  the 
choicest  of  the  lot.  The  thrifty  Yankee  soul  of  him 
must  have  rejoiced  especially  over  the  repurchase  of 
the  flour.  He  had  taken  it  from  the  tithing-house 
at  $6,  got  his  share  of  the  profits  of  selling  it  to  the 
government  for  $28.40,  and  now  bought  it  back  again 
for  fifty-two  cents,  to  sell  once  more  to  the  faithful 
for  $6. 

To  this  day,  the  Civil  war  is  regarded  by  the  Mor- 
mons as  an  incident  of  that  miracle  by  which  God 
replenished  the  storehouses  of  the  Prophet  and  the 
Saints  at  the  expense  of  an  unrighteous  nation.  They 
were  collecting  a  part  of  the  debt  which  was  due  to 
them  for  the  pillaging  to  which  they  had  been  sub- 
jected in  Missouri  and  Illinois. 

The  Mormon  attitude  was  one  of  frank  rejoicing 
at  the  troubles  of  the  Federal  government.  Brig- 
ham's  feelings  were  more  nearly  loyal  than  any  of  his 
followers  who  went  on  record  at  this  time — and 
surely  Brigham's  discourses  are  the  reverse  of 
patriotic  in  tone.  "  I  feel  disgraced  at  having  been 
born  under  such  a  government !  "  he  raged  at  the 
church  conference  on  April  6,  1861.  "  I  do  not  think 
there  is  a  more  corrupt  government  on  the  face  of 
the  earth,"  chimed  in  Daniel  H.  Wells,  chief  of  the 
Nauvoo  Legion.  Other  speakers  took  a  similar  tone. 
It  was  left  to  Apostle  George  A.  Smith,  however,  to 
vindicate  the  supremacy  of  his  family  in  imaginative 
discourse.      At    this    same   conference,    George    A. 


S22  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

solemnly  informed  the  assembled  Saints  that  un- 
less the  South  kept  Lincoln  busy,  he  would  be  forced 
by  the  "  priestly  influences  "  around  him  to  "  put  to 
death  every  man  who  believes  in  the  divine  mission  of 
Joseph  Smith." 

This  attitude  was  modified  at  times,  especially  if 
Brigham  happened  to  want  something  from  the  gov- 
ernment; but  it  never  was  permanently  changed  dur- 
ing the  early  half  of  the  war.  In  October,  1861,  when 
the  telegraph  line  was  completed  into  Salt  Lake  City, 
Brigham  sent  a  telegram  in  which  were  the  words: 
"  Utah  has  not  seceded,  but  is  firm  for  the  constitu- 
tion and  the  laws  of  our  once  happy  country."  Mor- 
mon writers  speak  of  this  formal  telegram  as  evi- 
dence of  exalted  patriotism.  Perhaps  it  is  such — by 
comparison  with  the  sentiments  habitually  nourished 
and  expressed  by  the  Mormon  hierarchy — but  it 
would  not  take  high  rank  in  a  broader  collection  of 
patriotic  literature.  Brigham's  theory  of  the  consti- 
tution was  that  this  instrument  gave  the  central  gov- 
ernment supreme  authority  to  protect  the  Mormons, 
and  no  authority  to  govern  them;  and  it  required  no 
great  accession  of  loyalty  to  commend  an  instrument 
interpreted  in  this  wise.  In  this  as  in  other  matters, 
actions  speak  more  decisively  than  words.  The  Mor- 
mon kingdom  probably  had  the  best  organized  militia 
in  the  United  States;  but  not  a  company,  not  a  squad, 
not  a  man  enrolled  in  the  Nauvoo  Legion  crossed  the 
plains  to  fight  for  the  Union  and  the  flag.  Brigham  on 
m.ore  than  one  occasion  declared  that  he  would  see  the 
federal  government  in  hell  before  he  would  allow 
a  single  Saint  to  enlist  in  its  defence,  and  so  far  as 
he  was  brought  to  the  test,  he  kept  his  word. 

Here,  as  in  the  story  of  the  Mormon  battalion,  the 


BRIGHAM  YOUNG  IN  1870 


SPOILING  THE  GENTILES  3^ 

student  is  struck  with  the  singular  obtuseness  of  Mor- 
mon writers  and  hierarchs  on  this  important  matter. 
They  literally  do  not  know  what  patriotism  is.  They 
have  given  to  their  church  kingdom  all  the  loyalty 
which  the  Gentile  citizen  bestows  on  country  and 
state.  A  few  men  of  high  intellectual  and  emotional 
character  among  them  have  been  able  to  rise  above 
ecclesiastical  prejudice,  and  really  love  their  country. 
A  few  who  have  been  much  in  contact  with  the  out- 
side world  have  absorbed  the  patriotic  sentiment  of 
their  neighbours.  Aside  from  these  chance  excep- 
tions, patriotism  has  scarcely  had  an  existence  among 
the  rulers  of  the  Mormon  kingdom. 

The  season  of  1861  was  well  advanced  before 
President  Lincoln  appointed  new  federal  officers  in 
Utah.  Then  he  sent  John  W.  Dawson  as  governor, 
and  John  F.  Kinney  as  chief  justice,  besides  other 
executive  and  judicial  lofficers.  Both  Kinney  and 
Dawson  were  thoroughly  bad  appointments;  but  the 
blame  for  them  rests  on  the  congressmen  who  did  not 
scruple  to  recommend  them,  rather  than  on  the  Presi- 
dent who  was  carrying  the  salvation  of  a  nation  on 
his  shoulders.  While  nearly  equal  in  unworthiness, 
the  two  men  were  widely  separated  in  the  fate  which 
overtook  them.  Kinney  pandered  to  the  Mormon  em- 
pire at  every  turn,  and  was  removed  at  last  only  when 
the  scandal  of  his  subserviency  became  too  great  to 
endure.  Governor  Dawson  antagonized  the  hierarchy 
— and  provoked  private  vengeance  by  his  evil  conduct. 

In  spite  of  their  virulent  comment  on  the  Ameri- 
can government,  Brigham  and  his  aids  were  anxious 
as  ever  to  secure  admission  of  Utah  as  a  state.  Gov- 
ernor Dawson  reached  Salt  Lake  City  early  in  De- 
cember.    The  legislature  passed  a  bill  calling  for  the 


824  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

adoption  of  a  constitution  and  the  election  of  state 
officers — and  representatives  at  Washington.  Daw- 
son vetoed  this  bill,  on  the  ground  that  it  gave  neither 
time  nor  heed  to  learn  whether  Congress  would  grant 
the  statehood  desired.  Almost  immediately,  Dawson 
found  himself  in  trouble.  He  made  improper  ad- 
vances to  a  woman  employed  in  his  office,  she  told  of 
his  offending,  and  the  governor  received  word  that 
the  sooner  he  got  out  of  the  territory  the  better.  He 
left  on  the  evening  of  December  31,  1861,  taking 
along  a  guard  specially  hired  to  protect  him  till  be- 
yond the  borders  of  the  kingdom.  In  spite  of  this 
guard — or  perhaps  by  their  collusion — Dawson  was 
set  upon  by  a  gang  of  bullies,  beaten,  kicked,  and  ac- 
cording to  one  account,  emasculated. 

This  was  another  case  in  which  the  rude  inter- 
preters of  the  law  of  blood  atonement  went  farther 
than  the  emperor  desired;  and  on  this  occasion.  Brig- 
ham  thought  best  to  punish  such  inopportune  exhibi- 
tion of  religious  zeal.  One  of  the  fellows  concerned 
in  the  outrage  was  shot  by  "  Port "  Rockwell,  Jan- 
uary 16,  1862,  "while  attempting  to  escape  from  the 
officers.'*  Two  others  were  killed  by  the  police  of 
Salt  Lake  City  the  next  day,  and  their  taking  off  was 
explained  in  a  similar  manner. 

Neither  the  veto  nor  the  departure  of  Governor 
Dawson  was  allowed  to  halt  the  effort  to  gain  state- 
hood for  Utah.  On  January  20,  1862,  a  convention 
met  in  Salt  Lake  City  to  frame  a  state  constitution, 
nominate  officials,  and  ask  for  admission  to  the  Union. 
On  March  3,  without  any  authorization  from  Con- 
gress, an  election  of  state  officers  was  held,  Brigham 
was  chosen  governor,  Heber  C.  Kimball  lieutenant- 
governor,  and  John  M.  Bernhisel  member  of  Con- 


SPOILING  THE  GENTILES  325 

gress  by  unanimous  vote.  A  legislature  was  elected 
at  the  same  time.  Six  weeks  later,  this  legislature 
met,  and  chose  George  Q.  Cannon  and  William  H. 
Hooper  as  United  States  senators. 

This  attempt  to  rush  Congress  into  granting  state- 
hood came  to  nothing — unless,  perchance,  it  helped 
forward  the  passage  of  the  first  of  federal  laws  deal- 
ing with  polygamy  in  the  territories.  President  Lin- 
coln signed  this  anti-polygamy  bill  July  2,  1862.  But 
for  a  season,  the  hopes  of  the  hierarchy  ran  high. 
Indians  were  troubling  the  telegraph  line;  and  Brig- 
ham  was  authorized  to  raise  a  company  of  militia  for 
the  protection  of  the  wires  until  federal  troops  could 
be  sent  to  the  threatened  spot.  The  required  com- 
pany was  on  its  way  in  forty-eight  hours  under  com- 
mand of  the  same  Lot  Smith  who  had  burned  govern- 
ment trains  five  years  before.  But  though  Lincoln 
was  willing  to  avoid  trouble  with  the  kingdom  until 
more  weighty  matters  were  off  his  hands,  he  had  al- 
ready appointed  a  new  territorial  governor,  and  had 
no  thought  of  yielding  the  federal  authority  to  dis- 
loyal hierarchs. 

In  the  absence  of  Dawson,  Secretary  Fuller  was 
acting  governor  of  Utah;  and  during  his  not  very 
vigorous  administration  occurred  one  of  the  most 
pathetic  tragedies  of  Mormon  history.  Joseph  Mor- 
ris was  an  ignorant  and  fervid  Welshman,  a  convert 
to  the  Mormon  church,  who  for  years  had  eked  out 
the  halting  processes  of  his  reason  by  frequent  and 
voluble  communication  with  "  spirits."  Some  months 
before  the  events  now  to  be  chronicled,  the  "  spirits  " 
had  given  Morris  the  task  of  delivering  a  rebuke  to 
Brigham  Young.  Brigham  answered  only  by  a  coarse 
jest.     Thereupon  Morris,  who  by  this  time  undoubt- 


8«6  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

ediy  had  crossed  the  wavering  line  which  separated  his 

fanaticism  from  insanity,  withdrew  to  Kington  Fort, 
thirty-five  miles  north  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  began  to 
put  forth  full-fledged  revelations.  Several  scribes  were 
kept  busy  writing  down  the  communications  which 
Morris  received  from  the  Lord;  and  quite  a  number  of 
Mormons,  who  had  felt  cheated  at  Brigham's  refusal 
to  deal  in  this  sort  of  literature,  flocked  to  the  new  foun- 
tain of  inspiration.  Brigham  sagaciously  sat  back,  and 
allowed  the  delusion  to  run  its  course.  Morris  had  in- 
sisted on  a  scheme  of  communism,  and  also  had  told 
his  followers  that  there  was  no  need  for  them  to 
plant  or  harvest  any  more,  since  they  had  food  enough 
on  hand  to  last  them  till  the  second  coming  of  Christ. 
A  few  weeks  of  close  contact  with  this  voluble  mad- 
man sufficed  for  the  more  worldly-minded  of  his  con- 
verts, who  returned  to  the  orthodox  fold,  and  tried  to 
get  back  from  Morris  their  "  consecrated  "  property. 
It  is  claimed  that  these  recusants  attempted  to  cheat 
the  community  by  withdrawing  more  and  better  cattle 
and  horses  than  they  had  brought.  At  any  rate,  the 
Morrisites  seized  two  of  the  apostates  and  held  them 
prisoners  in  Kington  Fort. 

Judge  Kinney  issued  writs  of  habeas  corpus,  de- 
manding that  Morris  produce  his  prisoners  in  court. 
When  the  unfortunate  lunatic  failed  to  do  this,  a  posse 
was  sent  to  arrest  him.  Morris  refused  to  surrender. 
With  what  seems  at  best  unseemly  haste,  General  Bur- 
ton, in  command  of  the  posse  under  authority  of  the 
United  States  marshal,  opened  fire  on  the  Morrisite 
camp  with  a  cannon,  killing  two  women  at  the  first 
shot.  The  Morrisites  returned  the  fire  with  such 
weapons  as  were  at  their  disposal,  and  killed  two  of 
Burton's  posse.     They  kept  up  the  fight  three  days. 


SPOILING  THE  GENTILES  32T 

until  their  ammunition  was  gone,  and  then,  June  i6, 
raised  the  white  flag.  Burton  and  his  followers  at 
once  entered  camp. 

The  usual  account  of  what  followed  is  that  Burton 
called  on  Morris  to  surrender,  that  the  lunatic  turned 
to  address  his  people,  and  that  Burton  thereupon  shot 
him  dead.  Immediately  after — still  continuing  the 
accustomed  tale — Burton  shot  and  seriously  wounded 
a  Morrisite  elder  named  Banks.  A  woman,  Mrs. 
Bowman,  ran  up  to  Burton,  calling  him  a  blood- 
thirsty wretch;  and  remarking,  "No  one  shall  call 
me  that  and  live ! "  Burton  killed  her.  A  Danish 
woman  approached  him  crying,  and  Burton  ended  his 
work  by  shooting  her,  likewise. 

This  account  cannot  be  accepted.  Sixteen  years 
afterwards,  in  1879,  Burton  was  tried  for  the  mur- 
der of  Mrs.  Bowman,  and  acquitted  by  a  jury  com- 
posed of  equal  numbers  of  Mormons  and  Gentiles. 
Making  all  due  allowance  for  the  difficulty  of  securing 
a  conviction  after  this  lapse  of  time,  and  for  the  de- 
gree of  evidence  required — and  properly — to  secure 
a  verdict  of  "  Guilty  "  in  a  capital  case,  it  is  fair  to 
conclude  that  Burton  was  innocent  of  this  most 
heinous  crime.  His  innocence  of  the  murder  of  the 
Danish  woman  is  still  more  certain,  since  it  may  be 
presumed  that  the  district  attorney  elected  the  strong- 
est case  for  trial. 

The  women  were  killed,  however;  Morris  was 
killed;  Elder  Banks  was  wounded  and  died  suddenly 
the  same  evening.  There  is  nothing  to  show  that  a 
single  one  of  these  killings  was  necessary,  yet  they 
were  done;  and  with  the  exception  of  Burton,  no  one 
was  ever  brought  to  trial  for  the  multiplied  slaughter. 
Neither  has  any  just  excuse  been  offered  for  Burton's 


328  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

act  in  suddenly  firing  with  cannon  on  a  camp  known 
to  contain  women  and  children.  This  cannon  fire  cost 
at  least  two  lives,  again  the  lives  of  women;  and  for 
this,  Burton  was  both  morally  and  legally  responsible. 
The  simple  fact  was  that  Burton  and  Brigham,  for 
that  matter,  were  as  careless  of  the  lives  of  "apos- 
tates "  as  some  bad  types  of  union  men  are  of  the  lives 
of  "  scabs,"  or  as  the  average  strike-breaking  gunman 
is  of  the  lives  of  strikers.  It  would  be  wrong  to  find 
any  peculiar  demerit  in  Mormonism  because  of  a  cal- 
lousness which  is  as  well  known  in  industrial  centres 
as  in  Utah.  But  if  the  new  religion  did  not  originate 
human  intolerance,  neither  did  it  help  that  failing. 

In  July,  1862,  the  new  federal  appointees  reached 
Utah.  They  were  Stephen  S.  Harding,  governor; 
and  Thomas  J.  Drake  and  Charles  B.  Waite,  associate 
judges.  These  last  were  appointed  to  take  the  places 
left  vacant  by  the  resignations  of  Flenniken  and 
Crosby,  who  had  been  sent  to  Utah  along  with  Gov- 
ernor Dawson,  and  had  left  only  a  month  later  than 
their  distinguished  executive.  In  the  interim,  Chief 
Justice  John  F.  Kinney  represented  the  federal  judicial 
power  in  the  territory,  in  odd  moments  spared  from 
running  his  boarding-house.  His  decisions,  like  his 
menus,  were  shaped  to  please  the  tastes  of  his  patrons. 

No  immediate  clash  took  place  between  representa- 
tives of  the  Republic  and  heads  of  the  kingdom,  though 
it  would  have  needed  no  great  exercise  of  Brigham's 
prophetic  faculty  to  see  such  conflicts  approaching.  For 
the  time,  the  hierarchy  was  more  concerned  with  an- 
other prospective  "  invasion."  Colonel  P.  E.  Connor, 
a  veteran  of  the  Mexican  war  and  a  superb  soldier, 
had  been  ordered  to  Utah  at  the  head  of  the  Third 
California  infantry.    The  service  was  unpleasant  both 


SPOILING  THE  GENTILES  62^ 

to  officers  and  men,  who  had  enlisted  for  fighting, 
and  were  much  disgusted  at  being  set  the  task  of 
watching  Brigham.  Colonel  Connor  begged  to  be  or- 
dered to  the  front.  His  men  offered  the  government 
$30,000  for  the  privilege  of  being  sent  to  the  thick 
of  the  fighting  in  Virginia.  The  administration,  how- 
ever, considered  that  the  Mormon  kingdom  would  be 
the  better  for  a  little  watching;  and  the  Calif ornians 
took  up  their  march  to  Salt  Lake  City. 

Connor  had  only  700  men — a  force  which  Brig- 
ham's  Nauvoo  Legion  could  have  crushed  in  a  few 
hours;  but  the  colonel  was  a  fair-sized  army  in  him- 
self. It  had  been  supposed  that  he  would  go  into  quar- 
ters at  Fort  Crittenden,  and  those  who  had  bought 
property  at  the  fort  were  already  counting  the  profits 
of  a  re-sale  to  the  government.  But  Colonel  Connor 
conceived  that  if  he  were  to  watch  the  Mormon  king- 
dom, he  needed  to  be  as  near  the  centre  of  that  in- 
stitution as  possible,  and  flatly  declined  to  be  marooned 
forty  miles  away. 

The  moment  this  decision  became  known,  rumours 
were  heard  that  the  federal  troops  would  not  be  per- 
mitted to  cross  the  Jordan,  that  they  would  be  an- 
nihilated if  they  tried  to  enter  the  city.  To  these 
stories,  Connor  returned  the  answer  that  he  would 
cross  the  Jordan,  though  hell  yawned  beneath  him. 
On  October  19,  1862,  his  little  force  passed  this  sacred 
river  quite  unopposed.  When  two  miles  from  the 
city,  he  halted,  formed  his  men  in  column  with  loaded 
muskets  and  shotted  cannon,  threw  his  few  horsemen 
forward  as  an  advance  guard,  and  in  this  order,  with 
bands  playing  and  colours  flying,  entered  the  principal 
street  of  the  city,  marched  to  Emigration  Square,  and 
thence  to  the  residence  of  Governor  Harding.     The 


330  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

whole  population  was  out,  but  they  gave  the  soldiers 
neither  insult  nor  cheer.  The  only  flag  waving  over  a 
building  in  the  city  was  that  raised  by  Governor  Hard- 
ing. The  governor  made  a  short  speech  to  the  sol- 
diers, who  responded  with  three  cheers,  led  by  their 
colonel;  then  they  resumed  their  march  to  the  high 
ground  under  the  Wasatch  Mountains,  where  they 
proceeded  to  form  Camp  Douglas.  Brigham's  resi- 
dence was  directly  in  range  of  their  guns. 

It  was  the  first  time  Brigham  had  encountered  a 
thoroughbred  soldier,  who  was  free  to  act  as  a  sol- 
dier, without  waiting  on  civilian  "  negotiations."  It 
cannot  be  supposed  that  the  "  Lion  of  the  Lord  "  found 
the  experience  a  pleasant  one.  He  was  as  little  of  a 
coward  as  Connor's  self;  but  he  had  not  and  could  not 
have  the  readiness  for  combat  which  marks  the  pro- 
fessional fighter;  and  the  prophet  had  many  things  to 
consider  which  troubled  the  bold  colonel  not  a  whit. 
A  few  months  later.  Colonel  Connor  earned  the  grati- 
tude of  the  northern  Utah  settlements  by  his  victory 
over  the  Indians  at  Bear  River;  and  the  startling  com- 
pleteness of  this  campaign  did  not  lessen  the  respect 
for  his  military  prowess.  Brigham  bitterly  hated 
being  under  the  guns  of  federal  soldiers;  but  he  took 
the  sensible  course  of  ignoring  an  annoyance  which 
it  was  unsafe  to  try  to  abate. 

The  territorial  legislature  met  in  December,  I862, 
and  on  the  eighth  of  that  month.  Governor  Harding 
read  his  message  to  the  joint  assembly.  He  tried  to 
be  both  complimentary  and  conciliatory.  But  he  also 
tried  to  speak  the  truth,  to  warn  his  hearers  against 
certain  practices  and  tendencies;  and  he  had  not 
learned  that  a  community  which  claims  to  be  under 
Divine  guidance  and  inspiration  accepts  the  most  ex- 


SPOILING  THE  GENTILES  331 

travagant  praise  as  no  more  than  its  due,  and  resents 
the  mildest  criticism  as  both  insult  and  injury.  Early 
in  his  message  occur  the  following  paragraphs : 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  since  my  sojourn  among  you  I 
have  heard  no  sentiments,  either  publicly  or  privately  ex- 
pressed, that  would  lead  me  to  believe  that  much  sym- 
pathy is  felt  by  any  considerable  number  of  your  people 
in  favour  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  now 
struggling  for  its  very  existence  in  the  '  valley  and  the 
shadow '  through  which  it  has  been  called  to  pass.  If  I 
am  mistaken  in  this  opinion,  no  one  will  rejoice  more 
than  myself  in  acknowledging  my  error.  I  would,  in  the 
name  of  my  bleeding  country,  that  you,  as  representa- 
tives of  public  sentiment  here,  would  speedily  pass  such 
resolution  as  will  extort  from  me,  if  necessary,  a  public 
acknowledgment  of  my  error — if  error  I  have  com- 
mitted. 

"  I  have  said  this  in  no  unkind  spirit ;  I  would  much 
rather  learn  that  the  fault  has  been  on  my  part  than  on 
yours." 

Further  on  in  his  message.  Governor  Harding  re- 
ferred to  the  new  federal  law  against  polygamy  in  the 
territories,  and  warned  the  people  that  this  law  must 
be  obeyed  until  repealed,  or  until  declared  unconsti- 
tutional. 

The  legislature  heard  this  message  with  suppressed 
indignation,  and  refused  to  order  it  printed.  They 
adjourned  January  i6,  1863,  without  having  passed 
a  single  appropriation  bill.  The  next  day,  the  so- 
called  legislature  of  the  "  State  of  Deseret"  met;  and 
Brigham,  as  "  governor,"  sent  in  a  message  which 
was  most  respectfully  received. 


332  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

This  was  one  of  the  most  impolitic  acts  of  Brig- 
ham's  life.  Considering  that  the  application  for  state- 
hood was  still  before  Congress,  it  was  an  utterly  ab- 
surd piece  of  impertinence.  The  only  visible  explana- 
tion is  that  both  Brigham  and  the  legislature  were 
boiling  with  fury  at  Harding,  and  were  more  anxious 
to  show  their  contempt  for  the  governor  than  careful 
to  trim  their  course  with  reference  to  its  effect  on 
Congress. 

Governor  Harding  did  not  long  remain  in  lone- 
some dignity  on  Brigham's  black  books.  He  was  soon 
joined  by  the  new  associate  justices.  Judge  Waite 
had  been  quick  to  notice  the  conflict  of  authority  be- 
tween local  and  federal  courts,  and  the  martial  and 
legal  weapons  which  were  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
kingdom  through  its  control  of  the  militia  and  of 
juries.  He  drew  a  bill  providing  that  the  United 
States  marshal  should  select  juries  in  the  federal 
courts,  limiting  the  power  of  the  probate  courts  of 
the  territory,  and  reorganizing  the  militia  under  the 
federal  governor.  This  bill  was  sent  to  Washington, 
introduced  in  Congress;  and  immediately  its  chief  pro- 
visions were  wired  back  to  Utah  by  "  senator-elect " 
W.  H.  Hooper.  To  make  matters  worse,  it  was  found 
that  Governor  Harding  had  endorsed  the  bill  with  the 
words:  "This  act  should  be  passed.*' 

The  recall  of  judges  is  quite  an  issue  in  American 
politics  at  present;  but  the  present  writers  believe 
Brigham  Young  was  nearly  or  quite  the  first  Ameri- 
can who  tried  to  put  this  doctrine  into  practice.  A 
mass-meeting  was  called,  which  packed  the  Tabernacle 
March  3,  1863.  Governor  Harding's  message  to  the 
legislature  was  read,  and  pronounced  an  "  insult "  to 
the  community.    John  Taylor  made  a  fiery  address, 


SPOILING  THE  GENTILES  833 

and  Brigham  indulged  to  the  full  his  rhetoric  of  in- 
vective. "  Man,  did  I  say  ?  "  he  shouted.  "  Thing, 
I  mean — a  nigger-worshipper,  a  black-hearted  aboli- 
tionist, is  what  he  is,  and  what  he  represents;  and  that 
I  do  naturally  despise.  ...  Do  you  acknowledge 
this  man  Harding  for  your  governor?  (Voices  all 
through  the  audience  responded,  *No,  you  are  our 
governor!')  Yes,  I  am  your  governor;  and  I  will 
let  him  know  that  I  am  governor;  and  if  he  attempts 
to  interfere  in  my  affairs,  woe,  woe  unto  him! 

"  Will  you  allow  such  a  man  to  remain  in  the  ter- 
ritory? (Voices,  'No;  put  him  out!')  Yes,  I  say 
put  him  out.  Judges  Waite  and  Drake  are  perfect 
fools,  and  the  tools  of  Governor  Harding,  and  they, 
too,  must  leave.  If  all  three  do  not  resign,  or  if  the 
President  does  not  remove  them,  the  people  must  at- 
tend to  it ! " 

Resolutions  were  adopted,  denouncing  Governor 
Harding  and  Judges  Waite  and  Drake.  A  petition 
was  drawn  up  and  circulated,  asking  President  Lin- 
coln to  recall  them.  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
visit  the  three  officials,  and  demand  that  they  resign 
their  offices  and  leave  the  territory  forthwith. 

These  representatives  of  kingly  and  ecclesiastical 
arrogance  were  met  in  unfaltering  fashion.  Gov- 
ernor Harding  received  the  committee  courteously,  and 
frankly  told  them  that  their  charges  against  him  were 
self -convicted  lies.  He  declined  to  resign,  declined 
to  modify  in  any  way  his  official  actions,  and  prom- 
ised his  visitors  that  while  it  was  well  within  their 
power  to  kill  him,  it  was  not  within  their  power  to 
escape  retribution.  Judge  Waite  answered  that  for 
him  to  resign  would  be  to  admit  that  he  was  guilty  or 
afraid.    "  I  am  not  conscious  of  either  guilt  or  fear," 


334  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

he  added.     *'  I  must  therefore  respectfully  decline  to 
accede  to  your  request." 

But  it  was  from  Judge  Drake  that  the  "  committee 
on  recall  of  judges  "  received  a  baptism  of  pepper 
which  still  tingles  the  skins  of  church  historians  as 
they  write.  The  staunch  old  man  lacked  something 
of  the  temper  of  a  judge — ^but  nothing  of  the  spirit 
of  a  citizen.  "  Go  back  to  Brigham  Young,  your 
master,  that  embodiment  of  sin  and  shame  and  dis- 
gust, and  tell  him  that  I  neither  fear  him  nor  love 
him  nor  hate  him — that  I  utterly  despise  him.  Tell 
him,  whose  tools  and  tricksters  you  are,  that  I  did 
not  come  here  by  his  permission,  and  that  I  will  not 
go  away  at  his  desire  nor  by  his  directions.  ...  I 
am  no  skulk  from  the  punishment  of  crimes.  I  tell 
you  if  you,  or  the  man  whom  you  so  faithfully  serve, 
attempt  to  interfere  with  my  lawful  business,  you  will 
meet  with  trouble  of  a  character  you  do  not  expect. 

"  A  horse-thief  or  a  murderer  has,  when  arrested, 
the  right  to  speak  in  court;  and  unless  in  such  ca- 
pacity, or  under  such  circumstances,  don't  you  ever 
dare  to  speak  to  me  again." 

This  flat  and  triply  repeated  defiance  of  kingly 
authority  was  uttered  March  4,  1863.  Four  days 
later,  the  officers  at  Camp  Douglas  forwarded  to 
President  Lincoln  a  statement,  denying  in  to  to  Mor- 
mon charges  against  the  three  officials,  and  protesting 
against  their  removal.  Events  were  moving  with  un- 
accustomed rapidity  in  the  Mormon  kingdom.  Before 
the  month  was  out,  the  Gentile  governor  had  defied 
Zion  again,  and  in  most  practical  fashion.  Ninety- 
three  Morrisites,  arrested  after  the  death  of  their 
leader,  had  been  bound  over  for  trial  before  the  board- 
ing-house judge,  John  F.  Kinney.    At  the  March  term 


SPOILING  THE  GENTILES  335 

of  court,  this  eminent  jurist  sentenced  seven  of  these 
Morrisites  to  terms  in  prison  for  murder  in  the  second 
degree,  and  imposed  fines  on  sixty-eight  others  for 
"  resisting  an  officer."  The  fact  of  resistance  was  un- 
questionable, and  death  caused  in  this  manner  is 
doubtless  to  be  classed  as  manslaughter  or  murder. 
But  every  extenuating  circumstance  which  the  Mor- 
mons have  ever  claimed  for  themselves  in  their  con- 
flicts with  their  "  enemies,"  could  be  pleaded  in  be- 
half of  the  Morrisites;  and  no  person  can  read  the 
evidence  to-day  without  being  convinced  that  the  pris- 
oners were  far  more  sinned  against  than  sinning.  On 
March  31,  Governor  Harding  pardoned  the  entire 
seventy-five. 

If  it  had  not  been  for  the  presence  of  the  indom- 
itable Connor  and  his  small  but  ready  army,  it  is  very 
unlikely  that  Harding  would  have  escaped  vengeance. 
The  fortunes  of  the  Union  were  not  high,  and  a  little 
later,  between  Chancellorsville  and  Gettysburg,  they 
sunk  so  low  that  no  threat  from  Washington  could 
have  given  pause  to  the  outraged  lord  of  the  Mormon 
kingdom.  But  Patrick  Edward  Connor  was  a  very 
present  deterrent  of  strife.  The  bravest  man,  if  unac- 
customed to  soldiering,  shrinks  from  attack  on  even 
a  small  force,  when  that  force  is  known  to  be  enthu- 
siastically devoted  to  a  commander  of  the  sort  who 
will  die  rather  than  yield.  Connor  had  to  the  full  the 
vanity  of  the  native-born  fighting  man,  and  his  Indian 
campaigns  show  a  mercilessness  closely  bordering  on 
cruelty.  But  many  a  man  won  glory  and  renown  on 
eastern  battlefields  whose  real  services  to  the  nation 
were  ten  times  surpassed  by  those  of  the  gallant  briga- 
dier marooned  in  the  inter-mountain  deserts.  His 
presence  averted  trouble  until  news  came  of  Getty s- 


336  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

burg  and  Vicksburg;  and  after  that,  the  danger  of 
armed  strife  was  over. 

Still  Brigham's  campaign  for  the  recall  of  federal 
officials  bore  fruit.  He  enlisted  the  help  of  the  tele- 
graph and  express  companies;  they  called  in  friendly 
senators;  and  Lincoln,  who  had  enough  of  fighting  on 
hand  in  the  East,  gave  partial  compliance.  He  re- 
moved Harding  from  the  governorship  of  Utah  to 
make  him  chief  justice  of  Colorado  territory.  At  the 
same  time,  however,  Judge  Kinney's  official  head 
dropped  into  the  basket;  and  Dr.  Fuller,  territorial 
secretary,  was  likewise  removed.  The  kingdom  had 
little  to  boast  of  in  the  encounter,  after  all,  though 
Brigham  relieved  his  feelings  and  emphasized  his  con- 
tempt for  eastern  opinion  by  sending  Judge  Kinney 
to  Congress  as  territorial  delegate.*  Judge  Waite 
held  a  term  of  court  at  which  not  a  single  case  was 
presented,  and  resigned  in  disgust.  Judge  Drake  re- 
mained, but  there  was  nothing  for  him  to  do.  The 
tone  of  ecclesiastical  comment  seems  to  show  that 
Brigham  respected  the  old  judge's  courage. 

Meanwhile  the  Civil  war  was  drawing  to  its  close, 
and  the  kingdom  began  making  overtures  to  the  now 
dominating  power  of  the  nation.  General  Connor  was 
taken  into  favour  at  Salt  Lake  City — despite  the  fact 
that  he  was  encouraging  miners  to  dig  among  the 
hills  of  Utah.  Members  of  the  hierarchy  joined  with 
officers  from  Camp  Douglas  in  celebrating  the  late 
Union  victories,  and  the  second  inauguration  of  Lin- 

♦That  was  the  beginning  of  high  political  rewards  to  "Jack- 
Mormons  " — as  sycophantic  Gentiles  are  called.  The  policy  has 
enlarged  with  the  growth  of  the  kingdom :  and  to-day  the  Mor- 
mon ruler  showers  senatorships,  governorships,  judgeships,  and 
seats  in  the  lower  house  at  Washington,  upon  Jack-Mormons  of 
the  states  which  are  under  his  dominion. 


SPOILING  THE  GENTILES  3S7 

coin.  When  Lincoln  was  murdered,  memorial  serv- 
ices were  held  in  the  tabernacle.  When  General  Con- 
nor left  to  assume  command  of  the  military  depart- 
ment of  the  Platte,  a  ball  was  given  in  his  honour  in 
the  city — but  Brigham  was  not  present.  As  he  had 
been  alone  in  expressing  regret  when  the  republic 
seemed  rushing  to  destruction,  so  Brigham  was  the 
last  to  stand  out  against  paying  homage  to  her  new 
fortune.  The  Sunday  before  Appomattox,  he  de- 
clared from  the  pulpit  that  there  were  still  four  years 
of  war  ahead.  One  may  smile  at  this  unconscious 
comment  on  the  pretension  to  prophecy;  but  one  must 
recognize  the  staunchness  of  the  prophet. 


XXXII 

BRIGHAM  A  TRUST  BUILDER 

BRIGHAM  doubtless  expected  the  federal  gov- 
ernment to  celebrate  its  triumph  over  slavery 
by  moving  with  resistless  force  on  slavery's 
twin  relic,  polygamy.  It  was  the  logical  thing  to  look 
for,  and  direct  evidence  on  the  point  is  not  lacking. 
Schuyler  Colfax,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives, visited  Utah  in  June,  I865,  on  what  closely 
resembled  a  tour  of  inspection.  He  was  accompanied 
by  Samuel  Bowles,  editor  of  the  Springfield  Republi- 
can— ^then,  as  now,  a  power  in  the  wiser  councils  of 
the  Republican  party.  In  a  conversation  with  Young, 
Colfax  suggested  that  the  Lord  might  be  induced  to 
send  a  new  "revelation,"  abolishing  polygamy. 
Bowles  reports  Brigham's  answer  as  follows :  "  Mr. 
Young  responded  quietly  and  frankly  that  he  should 
readily  welcome  such  a  revelation;  that  polygamy  was 
not  in  the  original  Book  of  the  Mormons;  that  it  was 
not  an  essential  practice  of  the  church,  but  only  a 
privilege  and  a  duty,  under  special  command  of  God." 
To  Linn,  one  of  the  most  painstaking  but  hardly 
the  most  impartial  historian  who  has  dealt  with  Mor- 
mon matters,  this  story  serves  only  as  a  text  for  a 
sermon  on  the  absurdities  of  Editor  Bowles.  The 
present  writers,  however  they  may  be  inclined  to  laugh 
at  the  phrase,  "  Book  of  the  Mormons,"  believe  that 
Brigham  spoke  seriously  and  was  quoted  correctly. 
That  he  would  have  given  up  the  practice  of  polygamy 


BRIGHAM  A  TRUST  BUILDER         339 

in  good  faith  we  do  not  for  a  moment  believe.  But 
we  have  not  a  doubt  that  he  was  prepared  to  issue 
such  a  revelation  stopping  polygamy  as  the  price  of 
statehood  for  Utah,  if  such  a  step  had  seemed  neces- 
sary. Brigham  was  a  fighter,  not  a  martyr;  and  he 
was  ready  to  use  any  strategem  that  seemed  promising 
in  a  fight  against  such  overwhelming  odds. 

As  it  turned  out,  however,  Brigham  was  not  long 
in  learning  that  so  far  as  the  efficiency  of  the  federal 
government  was  concerned,  the  death  of  Lincoln  had 
more  than  counterbalanced  the  surrender  at  Appomat- 
tox. The  assassin's  pistol  had  hardly  cooled  before 
the  murdered  President's  successor  was  locked  in  a 
futile  quarrel  with  Congress,  a  quarrel  which  brought 
credit  to  neither  party,  and  which  left  the  Mormon 
kingdom  for  years  undisturbed  save  by  troubles  which 
came  from  within. 

First  of  these  in  point  of  time  were  a  series  of 
crimes  in  which  Gentiles  were  the  victims,  and  whose 
perpetrators  usually  escaped  discovery.  The  earliest 
of  these  was  the  Brassfield  case.  Newton  Brassfield, 
a  Gentile,  married  the  plural  wife  of  a  Mormon  elder 
named  Hill,  who  was  then  absent  in  Europe  on  a 
mission.  Holding  that  the  marriage  of  Mrs.  Hill  was 
not  properly  a  marriage  at  all,  the  parties  did  not  even 
apply  for  a  church  divorce,  and  the  woman's  maiden 
name  was  used  in  the  ceremony  which  united  her  to 
Brassfield.  She  attempted  to  secure  possession  of  her 
children  by  Hill  through  a  write  of  habeas  corpus; 
but  before  the  matter  could  be  decided,  Brassfield 
was  shot. 

The  murder  was  at  once  laid  to  the  Mormon  hier- 
archy. There  is  nothing  to  show  that  Brigham  or 
any  of  his  aids  planned  or  ordered  the  killing;  but 


340  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

their  complete  approval  of  it  was  not  disguised. 
Brassfield  was  murdered  the  night  of  April  2,  1866. 
At  the  opening  of  the  church  conference  four  days 
later,  Brigham  declared  from  the  pulpit  that  in  a  simi- 
lar case  in  his  own  family,  he  would  lay  justice  to 
the  line  and  righteousness  to  the  plummet.  "  I  say 
that  for  myself,  not  for  another,"  he  went  on.  "  Were 
I  absent  from  my  home,  I  would  rejoice  to  know  that 
I  had  friends  there  to  protect  and  guard  the  virtue  of 
my  household;  and  I  would  thank  God  for  such 
friends.'* 

This  is  nothing  but  the  Mohammedan  harem  law 
over  again.  The  Oriental  marriage  system  had 
brought  all  sorts  of  Asiatic  notions  in  its  train.  Brig- 
ham  stuck  to  his  guns,  even  when  serious  trouble 
threatened  as  the  result  of  the  murder.  General  W. 
T.  Sherman,  commander  of  the  military  department 
of  the  plains,  telegraphed  that  he  hoped  to  hear  of  no 
more  murders  of  Gentiles  in  Utah,  and  intimated  that 
it  would  be  easy  to  re-enlist  some  of  the  volunteers 
recently  disbanded.  Brigham  answered  by  wire  that 
Brassfield  was  a  seducer,  who  merited  his  fate;  and 
procured  another  telegram  signed  by  some  Gentiles, 
to  the  effect  that  non-Mormons  who  minded  their  own 
business  were  not  troubled  in  Utah.  The  affair  blew 
over ;  but  the  soldiers  then  stationed  at  Camp  Douglas 
were  not  disbanded. 

Without  endorsing  either  the  Mohammedan  harem 
law  unconsciously  imported  by  Brigham  or  the  Ameri- 
can plea  of  the  "  unwritten  law,"  the  present  writers 
feel  bound  to  say  that  there  were  many  extenuating 
circumstances  about  the  Brassfield  killing.  Brass- 
field's  marriage  to  Mrs.  Hill  was  conducted  in  a  man- 
ner which  combined  offence  to  the  whole  community 


BRIGHAM  A  TRUST  BUILDER         34*1 

with  unfair  advantage  taken  of  an  absent  man.  If 
Brassfield  wished  to  challenge  the  system  of  plural 
marriage,  he  should  have  waited  till  Hill  came  home. 
If  he  did  not  wish  to  make  such  a  challenge,  he  should 
have  conformed  to  the  customs  and  regarded  the  feel- 
ings of  Hill's  co-religionists.  The  attempt  to  get  con- 
trol of  the  children  during  their  father's  absence  was 
peculiarly  unfair,  and  the  whole  business  was  con- 
ducted with  lack  of  taste  and  lack  of  sense.  This  does 
not  justify  the  murder;  if  bad  taste  were  a  capital 
offence  in  the  Mormon  kingdom,  there  would  have 
been  a  terrific  mortality  among  elders  and  Apostles. 
But  people  who  take  pains  to  attack  community  sanc- 
tities in  the  most  offensive  way  are  walking  in  danger. 
The  historian  may  say  of  Brassfield,  as  the  coroner's 
jury  said  of  the  tenderfoot  who  called  a  gun-fighter 
a  liar,  that  the  man  committed  suicide. 

In  October  of  the  same  year  came  another  killing 
devoid  of  all  mitigating  circumstances.  Dr.  J.  King 
Robinson,  formerly  assistant  surgeon  at  Camp  Doug- 
las, laid  claim  to  some  warm  springs  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  city.  He  was  ordered  off  by  the  city 
marshal,  took  his  case  to  the  courts,  and  Judge  Titus 
decided  in  favour  of  the  city.  Then,  when  all  possible 
excuse  for  violence  had  passed.  Dr.  Robinson  was  de- 
coyed out  one  night  on  a  pretended  professional  call, 
and  murdered.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that 
the  original  intention  was  to  beat  him;  but  a  young 
and  courageous  athlete  is  not  lightly  handled  in  this 
fashion.  The  shot  which  killed  the  doctor  was  fired, 
either  by  a  phenomenally  short  man,  or  more  probably, 
by  a  man  lying  on  the  ground,  whither  the  physician's 
fist  had  sent  him.  Brigham  felt  it  necessary  to  offer 
a  reward  for  the  apprehension  of  Robinson's  mur- 


84«  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

derers;  but  they  never  were  found.  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say  that  Brigham  could  have  laid  hands  on 
them  in  three  hours  had  be  wished  to  do  so.  But 
however  angry  he  may  have  been  at  the  embarrassing 
and  useless  outrage,  Brigham  had  no  notion  of  allow- 
ing reputable  Saints  to  suffer  at  the  hands  of  Gentiles 
for  upholding  the  kingdom  too  zealously. 

The  Gentile  population — horrified  at  Robinson^s 
fate,  and  alarmed  for  themselves — turned  out  en  masse 
to  the  funeral,  and  conducted  the  best  inquiry  possible 
into  the  circumstances  of  his  death.  But  their  investi- 
gation came  to  nothing,  and  for  the  moment,  at  least, 
their  courage  faltered.  General  Connor,  whose  un- 
hesitating nerve  had  been  a  tower  of  strength  during 
the  dark  days  of  the  Civil  war,  was  gone;  and  there 
was  none  to  take  his  place.  Brave  men,  in  the  sense 
that  the  average  soldier  is  brave,  are  common  enough; 
but  men  whose  nerve  snaps  into  action  automatically, 
and  is  disconcerted  neither  by  odds  nor  surprise,  are 
rather  rarer  than  true  poets.  The  Gentile  merchants 
took  counsel  together,  and  drew  up  a  statement  to 
Brigham,  offering  to  leave  the  territory.  They  asked 
only  that  he  would  guarantee  their  outstanding  ac- 
counts, and  take  their  goods  off  their  hands  at  a  25 
per  cent  reduction  from  appraised  cash  values. 

Brigham  answered  curtly  that  he  had  not  asked 
them  to  come  and  did  not  intend  to  bribe  them  to  go. 
He  was  too  shrewd  to  entertain  such  a  proposal  for 
a  second.  To  have  the  Gentile  merchants  of  Utah 
emigrate  en  masse  would  be  sure  to  bring  down  upon 
the  territory  the  heavy  hand  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment; and  Brigham  knew  by  this  time  that  open  re- 
sistance to  that  government  was  totally  out  of  the 
question. 


BRIGHAM  A  TRUST  BUILDER         343 

A  season  of  comparative  quiet  followed;  or  rather, 
none  of  the  troubles  threatening  the  Mormon  kingdom 
came  to  a  head.  The  new  attempt  to  secure  statehood 
failed;  but  on  the  other  hand,  the  new  and  more 
drastic  anti-polygamy  bill  did  not  pass.  Indian  trou- 
bles continued  to  bother  frontier  settlements,  but  this 
annoyance  was  not  sufficient  to  check  the  growth  of 
the  territory.  That  growth  was  substantial,  though 
perhaps  too  largely  expressed  in  public  works,  and  in 
the  prosperity  of  the  heads  of  the  church.  A  tele- 
graph line  between  Salt  Lake  City  and  Ogden  was 
finished  in  the  fall  of  1866;  and  early  in  1867,  the 
wires  were  carried  into  the  southern  settlements. 
Brigham  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  this  "  Des- 
eret  Telegraph  Company,''  as  well  as  its  first  presi- 
dent. Crickets  ruined  crops  in  several  counties  this 
year,  but  in  spite  of  this  loss,  the  new  Tabernacle,  seat- 
ing nearly  ten  thousand  persons,  was  ready  for  the 
general  conference  in  October. 

We  may  pause,  too,  to  chronicle  the  death  of  Heber 
C.  Kimball,  June  22,  1868.  Perhaps  the  loss  of  any 
of  his  wives  would  not  have  affected  Brigham  so 
nearly.  Brigham  had  little  trouble  in  getting  mar- 
ried, but  he  paid  the  despot's  price  in  the  uncertainty 
of  new-found  friends.  Heber's  friendship  was  not 
open  to  question.  He  had  followed  Brigham  into 
baptismal  waters,  and  he  continued  this  devoted  ad- 
herence all  through  life.  Coarse,  uneducated,  but 
loyal  to  the  core,  Heber  had  made  a  place  for  him- 
self in  the  rather  cold  heart  of  his  master;  and  that 
place  was  never  filled.  George  A.  Smith  was  chosen 
counsellor  in  Heber's  place;  and  some  time  later,  the 
list  of  counsellors  was  enlarged  to  enable  Brigham  to 
include  the  only  one  of  the  younger  generation  who 


344  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

ever  won  his  entire  confidence — George  Q.  Cannon. 
That  confidence  was  not  mistaken.  George  Q.  Can- 
non was  as  loyal  as  Heber  had  been,  and  brought 
far  more  intelligence  and  infinitely  more  knowledge 
and  independence  of  thought  to  the  churchly 
cabinet.  But  the  ancient  association  was  not  to  be 
replaced. 

All  this  time,  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  was  creep- 
ing westward  across  the  plains,  and  the  Central  Pa- 
cific was  working  eastward  toward  a  junction  of 
which  no  man  knew  more  than  that  it  must  occur  in 
some  part  of  Utah.  Brigham  once  had  said  that  he 
wished  he  could  build  a  wall  around  the  territory  so 
high  that  no  Gentile  could  enter;  and  perhaps  that 
would  have  been  his  choice  to  the  last  hour  of  his 
life.  But  he  knew  how  to  accept  facts;  and  since  iso- 
lation was  impossible,  the  sooner  the  railroad  arrived 
the  better.  To  some  of  the  faithful  who  expressed 
doubts  as  to  the  effect  of  this  new  enterprise  on  the 
church,  Brigham  had  answered  roughly,  "  Damn  a 
religion  that  can't  stand  one  railroad ! "  He  became 
a  director  in  the  company,  and  secured  contracts  for 
grading  a  considerable  extent  of  the  track — contracts 
which  he  immediately  sublet  at  a  profit.  That  he  made 
a  tidy  sum  of  money  in  this  way  is  certain;  but  it  was 
a  petty  fraction  of  what  the  eastern  and  western  syn- 
dicates concerned  in  that  enterprise  managed  to 
squeeze  out  of  stockholders  and  government. 

The  approaching  railroad  focussed  and  brought  to 
a  head  the  long-drawn  mercantile  problem  of  the 
kingdom.  In  the  beginning,  as  the  Mormon  historian 
Tullidge  points  ont,  "  to  become  a  merchant  was  to 
antagonize  the  church."  This  first  antipathy  had 
passed;  but  even  yet,  an  undue  proportion  of  Utah 


MAIN  STREET,  SALT  LAKE  CITY,   1913 
Brigham  used  to  denounce  this  as  Whiskey  Street 


BRIGHAM  A  TRUST  BUILDER         S4>6 

trade  was  in  the  hands  of  Gentiles,  or — worse  yet — 
of  apostates. 

Foremost  of  these  were  four  Englishmen,  the 
Walker  brothers.  Their  parents  had  joined  the  Mor- 
mon faith  while  the  lads  were  yet  minors,  and  all  had 
come  to  America  together.  The  father  died  of  chol- 
era, but  the  mother  and  her  sons  made  the  journey 
to  Utah,  and  shared  in  all  the  hardships  of  the  early 
days.  When  Camp  Floyd  was  established,  the  Walk- 
ers started  a  store  to  supply  soldiers  and  camp  fol- 
lowers. Brigham  could  not  well  object  to  this,  while 
he  was  making  a  fortune  by  supplying  wood  and 
flour  to  the  army,  but  he  did  not  look  on  the  new  en- 
terprise with  any  enthusiasm.  When  the  camp  was 
abandoned,  the  Walkers  bought  a  considerable  share 
of  the  goods  thrown  on  the  market,  and  moved  their 
store  to  Salt  Lake  City.  Here  they  came  more  directly 
under  the  espionage  of  the  prophet;  and  soon  found 
themselves  in  trouble  over  tithes.  They  refused  to  let 
the  bishop  of  the  ward  see  their  books.  When  a 
rather  pressing  demand  for  their  tithes  was  made  upon 
them,  they  gave  a  check  for  $500  as  a  contribution  to 
"  the  poor."  Brigham  sent  back  the  check  with  a; 
high-handed  message,  and  a  demand  for  a  tenth  of 
their  profits,  on  pain  of  cutting  them  off  from  the 
church.  Joseph  Robert  Walker,  who  though  not  the 
oldest  was  clearly  the  leader  of  the  four  brothers,  took 
the  check,  tore  it  up,  and  told  the  bishop-messenger 
boy  to  "  cut  away." 

Had  the  clash  come  before  the  Civil  war,  the  de- 
fiant merchants  must  have  been  beaten.  Even  now 
they  had  a  hard  struggle.  But  they  were  natural 
traders  and  business  men,  they  had  the  merit  of  abso- 
lute loyalty  within  their  own  ranks,  and  the  soldiers 


346  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

at  Camp  Douglas  relieved  them  of  any  fear  of  sum- 
mary proceedings.  The  Walkers  sold  goods  cheaper 
than  any  one  else  in  the  valley;  and  women,  even 
though  they  be  Saints,  and  stars  in  the  crown  of  a 
coming  deity,  cannot  resist  a  bargain.  Brigham  sta- 
tioned "  pickets ''  before  the  apostate  door  to  warn 
away  trade — and  trade  went  around  to  the  back  door. 
He  resorted  to  the  expedient  of  placing  an  "  all-seeing 
eye,"  and  the  words  "  holiness  to  the  Lord  "  over  the 
doors  of  Mormon  storekeepers;  but  even  this  did  not 
suffice.  If  the  Walker  brothers  could  thus  defy  the 
church  when  it  still  had  considerable  control  over 
means  of  transportation,  what  would  happen  when  the 
new  railroad  arrived,  and  the  great  Gentle  world  was 
brought  to  the  kingdom's  very  door? 

Brigham  saw  the  danger,  and  prepared  to  meet  it. 
Where  he  got  the  notion  for  his  great  plan  cannot  be 
told.  It  may  have  grown  naturally  out  of  the  other 
co-operative  enterprises  of  the  Mormons.  It  may 
have  been  a  sudden  thought  of  his  own.  The  im- 
portant point  is  that  late  in  1868,  Brigham  assem- 
bled a  few  of  the  chief  men  of  the  church,  and  an- 
nounced his  scheme  of  a  co-operative  store,  "  Zion's 
Co-operative  Mercantile  Institution,"  quickly  abbre- 
viated to  Z.  C.  M.  I. 

The  scheme  was  nothing  less  than  the  forming  of 
a  trust.  All  Mormon  merchants  were  required  to  go 
into  this  one  grand  undertaking.  The  tithing  power 
and  reserve  of  the  church  were  to  be  put  behind  it. 
Shares  of  the  new  institution  were  to  be  offered  to  all 
the  faithful,  and  in  this  way  a  large  body  of  interested 
patrons  would  be  secured.  Instead  of  competing 
with  each  other,  the  Saints  were  to  join  forces  to 
crush  Gentile  and  apostate  traders. 


BRIGHAM  A  TRUST  BUILDER         S4rt 

At  first,  every  one  balked  at  the  new  idea;  and 
Mormon  merchants  whose  business  was  doing  well 
were  particularly  loud  in  denunciation.  But  Brig- 
ham's  savage  will  and  imperial  power  overrode  all 
opposition.  To  the  plea  of  one  man  that  the  scheme 
would  ruin  him,  since  he  had  debts  that  would  more 
than  cover  the  bare  value  of  his  stock,  Brigham  re- 
plied brutally  that  it  would  serve  him  right,  as  he  had 
no  business  to  be  in  debt.  "  If  Henry  W.  Lawrence 
doesn't  look  out,  I'll  send  him  on  a  mission,  and  W. 
S.  Godbe  I'll  cut  off  from  the  church ! "  he  roared  in 
answer  to  the  protests  of  another  pair.  William  Jen- 
nings, richest  of  the  Mormon  traders,  had  to  face  a 
yet  more  galling  kind  of  treatment;  for  on  Sunday 
Brigham  would  rise  in  the  pulpit,  and  denounce  by 
name  those  who,  while  pretending  to  be  Saints,  yet 
were  "grinding  the  faces  of  the  poor!"  Jennings' 
name  led  all  the  rest.  After  a  short  course  of  this 
kind  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  Jennings  succumbed, 
joined  the  new  corporation,  turned  in  his  stock  at  a 
good  figure,  and  rented  his  store  to  the  new  enterprise 
for  three  years.  Z.  C.  M.  I.  was  launched  early  in 
1869,  and  has  been  the  chief  mercantile  factor  in 
Utah  ever  since. 

No  event  in  Brigham's  life  shows  more  clearly  his 
strength  and  resourcefulness  than  the  founding  of 
Z.  C.  M.  I.  None  gives  a  better  view  of  his  utter 
ruthlessness  toward  those  who  crossed  his  path. 
None  illustrates  more  concisely  the  money-making 
instinct  which  was  so  basic  an  element  of  his  nature. 
Tullidge  does  not  exaggerate  when  he  says  that  the 
founding  of  this  trading  trust  saved  the  temporal 
power  of  the  church;  and  he  might  have  added  that 
without  this  temporal  power,  Mormonism  would  soon 


848  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

sink  to  the  position  of  a  rather  interesting,  and  very 
unimportant  sect.  From  this  '*  innocuous  desuetude," 
the  church  was  saved  by  Brigham.  He  gathered  its 
scattered  resources,  combined  them  in  a  financial 
fighting  institution  which  is  to-day  a  power  from 
coast  to  coast;  beat  back  the  threatened  inroad  of 
Gentile  merchandising;  made  the  railroad  pay  toll  to 
the  kingdom,  instead  of  wrecking  it.  The  conception 
at  that  day  was  great  in  its  novelty  and  its  daring; 
the  domineering  will  which  carried  the  conception  to 
reality  is  worthy  of  the  same  praise  we  accord  to  a 
stubborn  soldier. 

And  for  this  priceless  service  to  the  church,  Brig- 
ham  took  pay.  He  was  the  first  president  of  the  new 
corporation.  As  would  be  said  of  a  new  trust  flota- 
tion, he  came  in  on  the  ground  floor.  Having  fought 
for  his  people  like  a  crusader,  he  proceeded  to  charge 
them   full  price   for  his  brains  and  energy. 

The  financial  peril  against  which  Brigham  guarded 
so  ably  was  not  the  only  one  which  menaced  his  su- 
premacy at  this  time.  There  was  also  a  determined 
effort  at  doctrinal  and  disciplinary  reform  of  the 
church  from  within.  A  considerable  group  of  well- 
educated  and  well-placed  Mormons  had  been  growing 
gradually  away  from  the  simple  gospel  of  paying 
tithes  and  taking  orders,  which  had  come  to  be  the 
orthodox  confession  of  faith  in  the  kingdom.  They 
did  not  wish  to  leave  the  church.  They  only  desired 
to  reform  it,  to  rescue  it  from  the  despotic  control  of 
Brigham,  and  from  the  narrow  exclusiveness  which 
had  inevitably  grown  up  in  a  religious  body  so  thor- 
oughly isolated  from  the  world. 

Foremost  in  this  "  New  Movement " — ^at  least  in 
point  of  time— were  W.  S.  Godbe  and  E.  L.  T.  Har- 


BRIGHAM  A  TRUST  BUILDER         349 

rison.  Both  were  men  of  independent  means,  Godbe 
was  widely  travelled,  and  Harrison  was  an  architect 
by  profession,  besides  having  some  claims  to  promi- 
nence as  a  writer.  With  them  were  soon  associated 
Edward  W.  Tullidge,  doubtless  the  leading  literary 
light  of  the  kingdom;  Henry  W.  Lawrence,  like 
Godbe  a  merchant  and  a  wealthy  man;  and  a  num- 
ber of  others  of  similar  standing.  All  things  are  com- 
parative. It  is  probable  that  the  New  Movement 
included  a  larger  proportion  of  the  available  brains  and 
education  of  Utah  than  the  Encylopedists  did  of  the 
brains  and  learning  of  France.  Certainly,  there  were 
few  in  the  orthodox  ranks  who  could  meet  the  New 
Movement  men  for  a  moment  in  debate. 

Their  attack  on  the  despotism  to  which  they  ob- 
jected was  conducted  with  remarkable  skill.  Harri- 
son and  Godbe  owned  the  Utah  Magazine ^  which  was 
dying  of  inanition  as  a  purely  literary  periodical. 
This  magazine  was  now  put  to  work  as  a  journal 
of  reform.  It  did  not  directly  attack  the  church  poli- 
cies of  Brigham,  but  it  antagonized  him  in  many 
ways.  It  encouraged  the  development  of  Utah  min- 
ing, something  which  Brigham  had  always  avoided. 
It  declared  openly  that  the  greatest  of  all  religious 
errors  was  to  imagine  "  that  God  intended  the  priest- 
hood to  do  our  thinking."  It  sought  to  familiarize 
Mormon  youth  with  the  careers  of  great  men  in  the 
outside  world,  fully  trusting  that  the  inevitable  com- 
parison would  not  redound  to  the  advantage  of 
the  high-handed  despot  who  ruled  the  church  in 
Zion. 

A  little  circumstance  helped  for  a  time  the  propa- 
ganda of  the  New  Movement  leaders,  and  then  hur- 
ried their  downfall.     Alexander  and  David  Hyrum 


860  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Smith,  two  sons  of  the  prophet  Joseph,  and  leaders 
of  the  "  Reorganized  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Lat- 
ter Day  Saints,'*  came  to  Salt  Lake  City.  Apparently, 
they  brought  with  them  some  charming  dream  that 
the  house  of  Zion,  which  Brigham  had  builded  with 
toil  and  bloody  sweat,  would  be  handed  over  to  them 
on  the  mere  presentation  of  their  cards.  They  were 
not  long  in  learning  their  error.  Having  been  reared 
by  their  mother,  Emma  Smith,  who  had  always  ab- 
horred the  doctrine  of  polygamy,  these  young  men 
accused  Brigham  of  having  engrafted  this  cult  on  the 
pure  religion  left  by  their  father.  Brigham  answered 
that  they  possessed  the  spirit  of  their  mother,  not  of 
their  father;  and  added  that  the  aforesaid  mother, 
Emma  Hale  Smith,  was  "  the  damnedest  liar  that  ever 
lived."  Instead  of  terminating  the  interview  with 
a  pistol,  as  most  men  would  have  been  tempted  to  do 
under  like  circumstances,  the  young  men  argued  the 
matter,  and  failing  with  Brigham,  tried  to  hold  meet- 
ings through  the  city,  and  preach  the  superior  merits 
of  the  "  Reorganized  "  church. 

Their  efforts  came  to  nothing,  as  might  have  been 
anticipated.  Brigham's  aids  saw  to  it  that  each  meet- 
ing was  attended  by  persons  familiar  with  church  his- 
tory in  Missouri  and  Nauvoo,  and  each  meeting  de- 
generated into  a  wrangle.  Joseph  F.  Smith,  present 
president  of  the  church,  was  especially  useful  in  this 
regard,  because  he  was  a  nephew  of  the  prophet. 
But  the  New  Movement  leaders  noted  the  struggle  in 
the  Utah  Magazine,  and  managed  to  take  a  shot  at 
both  sides.  "If  we  know  the  true  feelings  of  our 
brethren,"  they  declared,  "  it  is  that  they  nev^er  in- 
tend Joseph  Smith's  son  nor  any  other  man's  son  to 
preside  over  them,  simply  because  of  their  sonship." 


BRIGHAM  A  TRUST  BUILDER         351 

This  was  a  thrust  at  Brigham's  well-known  wish  to 
secure  the  prophetic  succession  to  his  son,  John  W., 
as  well  as  the  pretensions  of  the  resuscitated  Smiths 
from  Missouri.  Brigham  retorted  by  ordering  Godbe 
and  Harrison  to  go  on  missions.  They  refused.  Not 
long  after,  timing  his  movements  so  as  to  do  the  most 
good,  Brigham  summoned  the  two  men  before  the 
high  council,  which  promptly  excommunicated  them. 
Eli  B.  Kelsey,  who  objected  to  this  summary  pro- 
ceeding, was  instantly  dealt  with  in  the  same  manner. 
A  manifesto  was  issued,  signed  by  Brigham  and  sev- 
eral others  high  in  church  counsels,  denouncing  the 
Utah  Magazine  as  a  pernicious  work,  and  forbid- 
ding the  faithful  to  read  it.  The  "  reformers  "  had 
a  clear-cut  issue  sooner  than  they  expected  it. 

Writers  on  Mormonism,  unconsciously  copying  the 
estimate  which  the  literary  leaders  of  the  New 
Movement  placed  on  their  own  work,  have  assured 
the  world  for  a  generation  that  this  revolt  did  serious 
damage  to  Brigham's  rule,  and  threatened  for  a  time 
to  overthrow  his  sway  altogether.  The  present  writ- 
ers regret  to  dissent  from  so  amiable  and  unanimous 
a  conclusion,  but  are  quite  unable  to  reconcile  that 
opinion  with  the  facts.  The  reformers  had  courage, 
devotion,  steadfastness,  and  high  intelligence;  but 
their  movement  went  to  wreck  the  moment  it  was 
launched.  With  all  their  wit,  they  found  themselves 
unable  to  reach  the  people  whom  Brigham  held  as  in 
the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and  a  single  raging  sermon 
from  him  made  the  term  "  Godbeite  "  hated  and  feared 
throughout  the  kingdom.  And  with  all  their  resent- 
ment of  Mormon  autocracy,  its  capital  was  the  only 
place  where  the  ablest  of  the  New  Movement 
leaders  felt  secure.     Godbe  and  several  of  his  co- 


352  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

workers  were  polygamists,  whose  hands  were  tied  by 
plural  wives,  and  children  born  in  plural  marriage. 

The  New  Movement  cost  the  Mormon  kingdom 
the  cession  of  not  a  single  dogma,  and  the  loss  of 
scarcely  a  hundred  members.  Seldom,  if  ever,  has  so 
formidable  seeming  an  attack  on  ecclesiastical  ram- 
parts been  so  quickly  and  finally  repelled. 

And  all  this  time  Brigham  was  colonizing  through- 
out the  inter-mountain  region  and  some  other  parts  of 
the  world  with  his  usual  energy  and  skill.  Neither 
trouble  nor  triumph  at  home  deterred  him.  His  ablest 
pioneers  were  directed  into  the  choicest  valleys  of 
southern  Idaho,  western  Wyoming,  Arizona,  and 
New  Mexico  to  establish  the  Lord's  possession  and 
Brigham's  rule.  Any  man  who  made  a  notable  suc- 
cess in  the  kingdom  proper,  either  as  a  tiller  of  the 
soil  or  as  a  governor  of  tillers  of  the  soil,  was  likely 
to  be  called  to  open  new  provinces.  Such  a  man  was 
usually  sent  as  a  leader  after  the  land  had  been 
carefully  and  shrewdly  observed  by  himself,  or  a 
predecessor;  and  a  body  of  faithful  young  men  with 
their  families  was  selected  to  accompany  him.  There 
was  neither  rebellion  nor  delay  in  fulfilling  this  mis- 
sion. To  leave  the  Salt  Lake  and  other  valleys  of 
Utah  with  their  plenitude  and  their  ties  may  have 
been  a  hardship,  but  it  was  invariably  endured  with- 
out murmur. 

Brigham  had  said  that  all  this  land  was  Zion,  to 
be  ruled  by  the  prophet  of  Zion;  and,  beginning  with 
1855  ^^^  continuing  to  the  time  of  his  death,  Brig- 
ham was  establishing  his  claim  as  a  fact.  Nor  did 
he  pause  with  colonization  in  the  United  States.  His 
missionaries  had  gained  a  strong  foothold  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,  where  one-fifth  of  the  native  pop- 


BRIGHAM  A  TRUST  BUILDER  853 

ulation  had  accepted  his  gospel;  and  there  he  secured 
profitable  plantations.  In  Mexico  on  the  south  and 
Canada  on  the  north,  his  pioneers  located  their 
towns,  built  their  meeting-houses,  and  reached  out  for 
all  the  valuable  land  that  joined  them.  It  was  the  ex- 
ercise of  imperial  ambition,  as  well  as  wisdom.  Brig- 
ham  wanted  rich  provinces  to  feed  with  unfailing 
stream  the  growing  capital  of  his  kingdom.  He 
wanted  land-owning  and  the  work  attendant  there- 
upon for  the  oncoming  generation  of  his  people.  He 
saw  without  any  dimness  the  political  and  commercial 
splendour  of  a  kingdom  which  should  hold  the  back- 
bone of  the  continent. 

Idaho  was  the  most  promising  of  the  provinces  and 
here  he  established  an  Apostle — the  only  place  out- 
side of  Utah  itself  which  has  had  a  resident  governor 
of  this  high  ecclesiastical  dignity.  To  the  other  states 
he  sent  elders  of  proved  valour  and  executive  ca- 
pacity. His  orders  to  all  of  these  representatives  were 
direct  and  sufficient :  "  Get  choice  land ;  till  it  intelli- 
gently; get  water-power  for  your  mills;  file  on  coal- 
mines and  quarries;  build  good  meeting-houses  and 
comfortable  homes;  pay  your  tithes — ^pay  your  tithes. 
Make  no  unnecessary  political  conflict  with  your  Gen- 
tile neighbours;  but  hold  our  own — ^and  our  own  is 
all  that  comes  within  your  reach.'* 

From  the  hour  when  the  kingdom  was  self-sus- 
taining at  home  this  work  of  colonization  went  on 
definitely  without  intermission;  but  it  reached  its  in- 
tensity always  in  any  period  of  trouble.  Brigham 
had  found  in  the  days  of  Nauvoo  the  superlative 
value  of  work  for  his  people  when  they  were  as- 
sailed by  dangers  from  without  or  doubts  from  within. 
He  continued  to  magnify  the  hope  and  courage  of  his 


S64  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

followers,  and  quell  nearly  all  questioning  of  his  Di- 
vine authority  by  finding  prodigious  tasks  for  his  peo- 
ple to  perform. 

To  all  these  new  colonies — wherever  situated — ^he 
was  the  law-giver — supreme.  The  man  who  went  to 
Idaho,  Arizona,  Canada,  or  Mexico,  owed  and  paid  his 
allegiance  to  Brigham  Young.  And  the  circumstances 
as  well  as  the  inclination  of  the  adventuring  colonist 
compelled  this  deference.  The  Mormon — no  matter 
what  his  wealth — carried  very  little  with  him  from 
Utah  to  the  new  settlement.  He  was  dependent  upon 
community  industry  for  the  building  of  a  new  home, 
surrounded  by  the  comforts  and  the  sustenances  of 
civilization.  He  was  dependent  upon  Brigham's  fa- 
vour to  finance  any  large  enterprise  in  the  new  land. 
He  was  dependent  upon  Brigham's  recognition  of  in- 
cipient success  for  the  sending  of  colonists  in  larger 
body  to  build  towns  and  to  diversify  profitable  occu- 
pation. 

Almost  without  exception  every  attempted  settle- 
ment became  a  fixture;  almost  immediately  in  every 
case  the  new  colony  began  to  send  in  its  stream  of 
tithes. 

After  Brigham  had  been  ten  years  in  the  valley  of 
Salt  Lake,  when  he  travelled  from  the  southern 
boundary  of  Utah  to  the  southernmost  settlement,  in 
every  halting-place  he  could  see  some  mill  or  granary 
or  other  edifice — usually  built  of  adobe,  bearing  the 
hammered  iron  letters  "  B.  Y."  He  did  not  extend 
this  definite  mark  of  ownership  into  his  provinces; 
but  if  Brigham  had  chosen  to  use  a  flag,  and  if  he  had 
chosen  to  plant  it  wherever  his  power  was  supreme,  it 
could  have  floated  in  an  almost  unbroken  line  through 
the  Rocky  Mountain  region,  from  Alberta  to  Sonora. 


XXXIII 

THE  CRUSADE  DEFEATED 

WHILE  Brigham  was  guarding  his  kingdom 
from  financial  subjugation,  suppressing  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  insurrection  among  his 
people,  and  planting  his  tithing  offices  from  Canada 
to  Mexico,  there  was  maturing  a  campaign  which 
was  intended  to  level  against  him  the  whole  over- 
whelming might  of  the  United  States.  Vice-Presi- 
dent Colfax,  on  his  second  visit  to  Salt  Lake  City 
in  1869,  had  intimated  that  such  a  campaign  was 
imminent.  He  was  urged  to  stay  the  government's 
hand,  and  wait  for  the  New  Movement  to  re- 
form the  church  from  within.  But  it  was  early  ap- 
parent to  all  save  the  Godbeite  leaders  that  this  move- 
ment was  hopeless  almost  from  its  beginning,  and  no 
more  than  amusing  long  before  its  close.  If  the  "  Lion 
of  the  Lord  "  were  to  be  driven  from  his  ecclesiastical 
jungle,  it  was  clear  that  the  federal  government  must 
furnish  beaters  and  station  marksmen  to  bring  down 
the  game. 

The  initial  attempt  to  do  this  was  made  by  Con- 
gress— it  being  a  standing  superstition  in  our  good 
land  that  the  first  thing  to  do  in  any  emergency  is  to 
pass  a  new  law.  Drastic  bills  applying  to  the  Mor- 
mon situation  were  introduced  in  both  houses:  in  the 
Senate  by  Cragin  of  New  Hampshire,  in  December, 
1869;  and  in  the  House  by  Cullom  of  Illinois  a  few 
days  later.     Cullom's  bill  passed  the  House  by  a  de- 

355 


856  BMGHAM  YOUNG 

dsive  vote,  which  was  not  influenced  in  the  least  by 
Delegate  Hooper's  genuinely  eloquent  plea  against  it 
It  was  accepted  in  the  Senate  by  Cragin  as  a  substi- 
tute for  his  own  measure,  and  the  fight  was  thus  trans- 
ferred to  that  body. 

Fortunately  for  the  overmatched  Mormon  emperor, 
the  Cullom  bill  lent  itself  to  attack  by  Brigham's  east- 
cm  sjonpathizers.  It  swept  aside  nearly  every  de- 
ment of  local  sdf -government  in  Utah.  It  reduced 
the  safeguards  of  trial  by  jury  very  nearly  to  the 
vanishing  point  In  a  word,  it  treated  Utah  as  a 
conquered  but  rebellious-minded  province,  rather  than 
as  an  embryonic  state;  and  the  country  was  not  pre- 
pared for  such  radical  measures. 

Brigham  had  no  trouble  in  organizing  at  home  a 
resistance  to  the  Cullom  bill,  in  which  Gentiles,  God- 
bdtes,  and  orthodox  Mormons  stood  side  by  side. 
The  women  of  Utah  made  a  special  and  particular 
protest  The  fact  that  the  territorial  legislature  had 
conferred  the  franchise  on  women  in  an  act  approved 
February  12,  1870,  gave  this  action  extra  wdght  The 
influence  of  railroad  and  tdegraph  friends  was  also 
called  upon.  Whether  more  tangible  means  of  persua- 
sion were  used  cannot  be  aflSrmed — though  scnne  of 
Brigham's  allies  and  protectors  of  that  day  were  no 
more  above  susceptibility  to  financial  influence  than 
Brigham  was  above  using  it  At  any  rate,  the  Cullom 
bin  died  of  wilful  neglect,  and  the  kingdom  was  free 
from  this  direct  and  dangerous  menace  to  its  inde- 
pendence. 

Little  time  was  allowed  for  jubilation,  however. 
Before  the  Cullom  biU  was  formally  dead,  plans  were 
begun  to  conquer  the  defiant  Mormon  theocracy  by 
the  aid  of  laws  already  in  existence.     Like  the  hu- 


THE  CRUSADE  DEFEATED     35T 

mourist  who  cared  little  who  cast  the  votes  so  long 
as  he  might  count  them,  the  government  concluded 
that  by  appointing  the  right  sort  of  men  to  positions 
in  Utah,  it  might  crush  Brigham's  empire  without 
waiting  on  legal  changes. 

Pursuant  to  this  plan,  J.  Wilson  Shaffer  was  ap- 
pointed governor  of  Utah  in  February,  1870.  On 
June  17  of  the  same  year,  James  B.  McKean  was 
made  chief  justice  of  the  territory.  Both  were  men 
of  high  personal  character,  and — what  was  more  im- 
portant in  the  present  crisis — both  were  men  of  un- 
usual courage  and  steadfastness.  Shaffer  was  dying 
of  consumption  at  the  time  of  his  appointment,  but 
expressed  himself  willing  to  devote  the  remaining 
fraction  of  his  life  to  crushing  what  he  considered  the 
treasonable  hierarchy  headed  by  Brigham  Young. 
That  hierarchy  took  a  deal  more  crushing  than  Gov- 
ernor Shaffer  had  anticipated;  but  before  his  death 
he  had  struck  one  blow  at  its  power.  He  forbade 
the  assembling  of  the  Nauvoo  Legion.  The  victory 
was  sentimental,  rather  than  practical,  since  the  Le- 
gion no  longer  was  able  to  inflict  even  serious  annoy- 
ance on  an  army  of  the  United  States.  But  it  ended 
a  long  and  tenaciously  held  tradition,  and  compelled 
the  dullest  zealot  to  recognize  that  in  a  test  of  phys- 
ical force  his  kingdom  was  helpless  in  the  grasp  of 
the  encompassing  Republic. 

Judge  McKean's  career  in  Utah  lasted  years,  in- 
stead of  the  months  allotted  to  Governor  Shaffer. 
Indeed,  the  history  of  the  territory  during  those  years 
is  composed  in  large  measure  of  the  unceasing  strug- 
gle between  the  Mormon  monarch  and  the  Methodist 
chief  justice.  McKean  was  brave,  earnest,  and  zeal- 
ous.   His  private  character  was  above  reproach.    His 


868  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

intelligence  was  high.  His  learning  was  by  no  means 
slight.  But  the  Mormon  wag  who  first  dubbed  Mc- 
Kean  the  "  mission  jurist "  hit  the  mark  with  impish 
accuracy.  McKean  was  in  truth  a  missionary  on  the 
bench,  a  judge  who  used  the  law  to  magnify  the  gos- 
pel. His  gospel  was  one  of  patriotism,  of  high  civic 
and  domestic  ideals;  but  this  does  not  alter  the  fact, 
obvious  to  the  most  casual  student  of  the  time  with 
which  we  deal,  that  McKean  stretched  his  authority 
to  cover  every  act  which  he  conceived  might  work 
an  injury  to  the  Mormon  kingdom. 

By  this  time  the  non-Mormon  element  in  the  king- 
dom had  grown  to  appreciable  proportions — approxi- 
mately it  was  twenty  per  cent  of  Utah's  population.  It 
comprised  some  apostates;  many  families  whose  heads 
had  come  as  federal  office-holders;  daring  merchants, 
and  traders;  preachers;  professional  men,  and  a  small 
army  of  railroad  builders  and  operators.  It  was 
strengthened,  too,  and  animated  by  an  ever-moving, 
aggressive  host  of  prospectors  and  miners,  who  had 
smilingly  and  yet  grimly  braved  Brigham's  anathema 
in  order  to  tap  Zion's  hills  for  their  treasures  of  gold 
and  silver.  Above  the  capital  still  frowned  Camp 
Douglas,  a  warning  to  the  kingdom  and  an  encourage- 
ment to  the  invaders.  All  these  were  contemptuously 
classed  as  *'  Gentiles,"  "  Outsiders,"  "  Enemies  " — ex- 
cept the  handful  of  seceders  from  the  church,  and 
these  were  usually  called  "  Damned  Apostates "  by 
Brigham's  court  and  subjects. 

All  these  otherwise  incongruous  elements  cohered 
in  a  sympathetic  fraternity.  They  learned  an  en- 
forced solidarity  from  their  dangers  as  well  as  the 
example  of  the  kingdom. 

Best  of  all,  these  Outsiders  soon  had  a  great  news- 


THE  CRUSADE  DEFEATED     359 

paper,  the  Salt  Lake  Tribune.  Started  by  liberal 
Mormons  and  apostates  as  a  protest  from  within  the 
ranks  of  Mormons,  it  soon  passed  under  the  control 
of  Gentiles — talented  and  trained  newspaper  men  who 
took  a  fierce  joy  in  baiting  the  "  Lion  of  the  Lord." 
Nowhere  in  the  world  has  a  more  brilliant  battle 
been  made  for  freedom  of  speech.  It  was  too  late — 
and  Brigham  did  not  feel  inclined — to  copy  Joseph's 
fatal  mistake  of  suppressing  an  American  newspaper 
"  by  order  of  the  king."  So  the  Tribune  fought,  and 
flourished  by  fighting.  It  was  an  act  of  faith  for  Gen- 
tiles to  support  it;  and  thousands  of  Mormons  read 
it  on  the  sly,  "  just  to  see  what  the  damned  thing 
said." 

In  resisting  the  crusade  now  launched  against  them, 
the  Mormons  had  three  important  breastworks. 
Comprising  an  immense  majority  of  the  population 
of  Utah,  they  were  sure  of  controlling  any  jury  drawn 
in  ordinary  fashion.  The  probate  courts  of  the  ter- 
ritory— of  course  entirely  subject  to  the  kingdom — 
had  been  vested  with  extensive  icivil  and  criminal 
jurisdiction,  conflicting,  in  many  cases,  with  that  as- 
sumed by  the  district  courts  whose  judges  were  named 
by  the  President.  To  clinch  this  control  of  judicial 
machinery,  there  was  a  territorial  marshal,  who  made 
out  the  venire  from  which  jurymen  were  drawn;  and 
an  attorney-general,  who  was  held  the  proper  officer 
to  prosecute  all  cases  arising  under  territorial  law. 
So  long  as  these  defences  remained  intact,  the  king- 
dom was  safe. 

The  first  care  of  the  crusaders — if  we  may  borrow 
this  term  which  the  Mormons  applied  to  Judge  Mc- 
Kean,  his  associates,  and  their  supporters — was  to 
beat  down  the  judicial  bulwarks  of  the  kingdom.    The 


S60  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

earliest  movement  in  this  direction  was  begun  before 
McKean  reached  the  territory,  but  it  did  not  reach 
final  adjudication  until  he  was  present.  In  September, 
1870,  Judge  Strickland,  associate  judge  with  McKean 
and  Hawley,  denied  the  jurisdiction  of  probate  courts 
in  criminal  cases;  and  the  next  month  Judge  Hawley, 
in  a  more  sweeping  decision,  practically  restricted 
these  local  courts  to  the  proving  of  wills  and  the  ad- 
ministering of  estates.  The  first  defence  of  the  Mor- 
mon kingdom  was  down. 

The  other  barriers  did  not  last  long.  On  August 
27,  1870,  a  saloon  belonging  to  one  Englebrecht  was 
raided  by  the  territorial  marshal  and  the  Salt  Lake 
City  chief  of  police,  and  its  stock  of  liquors  poured 
into  the  gutter.  The  proceeding  was  a  regular  one 
according  to  territorial  law;  but  the  marshal  and  his 
aids  were  arrested,  and  bound  over  to  await  action  by 
the  grand  jury.  At  the  term  of  court  beginning  Sep- 
tember 19,  1870,  Judge  McKean  decided  that  courts 
presided  over  by  federal  judges  were  not  subject  to 
territorial  law  in  the  drawing  of  juries,  that  they  were 
in  effect  United  States  courts,  rather  than  territorial 
courts.  The  grand  jury  thus  drawn  in  defiance  of 
Utah  law  indicted  the  Mormon  officials  concerned  in 
raiding  the  saloon;  and  on  November  4  of  the  same 
year  a  trial  jury  drawn  in  the  same  fashion  gave  a 
verdict  in  favour  of  the  saloon  owners  and  against 
the  marshal  and  his  aids  for  $59,063.25.  The  case 
was  promptly  appealed  to  the  higher  federal  courts. 
We  shall  meet  it  again  later. 

Judge  McKean's  decision  in  this  case  practically 
superseded  the  territorial  marshal  and  attorney-gen- 
eral by  the  United  States  marshal  and  district  attor- 
ney.   If  any  shred  of  doubt  had  remained,  however. 


THE  CRUSADE  DEFEATED     361 

it  was  set  at  rest  the  following  spring.  Two  quo 
warranto  suits  had  been  brought  to  settle  this  point. 
In  March,  1871,  Judge  McKean  and  his  associates 
ruled  that  the  territorial  marshal  and  attorney-general 
had  no  place  in  the  district  courts  of  the  territory — 
the  only  courts  left  having  any  jurisdiction  worth 
naming.  Juries  in  these  courts  were  to  be  drawn  by 
the  United  States  marshal,  in  blissful  disregard  of 
territorial  law,  and  cases  were  to  be  prosecuted  by  the 
United  States  district  attorney. 

With  federal  appointees  holding  the  sole  power  to 
empanel  juries,  prosecute  cases,  and  render  decisions, 
the  crusade  had  at  least  a  favourable  start.  But  it 
was  checked  for  a  time  by  an  unexpected  obstacle. 
The  Mormon  legislature  of  Utah  took  the  very  hu- 
man view  that  if  the  district  courts  of  the  territory 
were  United  States  courts,  as  Judge  McKean  had 
affirmed,  then  the  United  States  might  pay  for  their 
maintenance.  Acting  on  this  theory,  the  legislature 
failed  to  make  an  appropriation  to  carry  on  the  work 
in  these  courts.  When  the  grand  jury  and  petit 
jurors  were  drawn  for  the  March  term,  1871,  Judge 
McKean  explained  to  them  that  he  was  obliged  to 
send  them  home,  because  no  money  had  been  provided 
for  their  per  diem  allowance,  not  even  for  their  board. 
He  commented  on  this  as  a  proof  of  the  disloyalty  of 
the  legislature.  Some  of  his  language  is  worthy  of 
quotation : 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  grand  and  petit  juries,  I  am  a 
federal  official  in  Utah.  I  apologize  to  nobody  for  being 
here;  I  shall  stay  here  as  long  as  I  choose,  or  so  long 
as  the  government  at  Washington  shall  choose  to  have 
me  here ;  and  I  venture  the  prediction  that  the  day  is  not 


362  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

far  in  the  future  when  the  disloyal  high  priesthood  of 
the  so-called  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints 
shall  bow  to  and  obey  the  laws  that  are  elsewhere  re- 
spected, or  else  those  laws  will  grind  them  to  powder." 

One  may  grant  the  accuracy  of  McKean's  descrip- 
tion of  the  Mormon  high  priesthood  without  admit- 
ting his  judicial  right  to  so  characterize  them  at  such 
a  time.  The  whole  point  and  purpose  of  the  crusade 
thus  momentarily  halted  was  to  bring  Brigham  and 
his  aids  into  court.  Even  if  it  had  been  fair  for  the 
judge  before  whom  they  must  come  to  brand  them 
in  advance  as  disloyal  and  traitorous,  it  certainly  was 
not  sagacious  to  deliver  such  premature  judgment 
from  the  bench  to  men  who  had  been  drawn  as  jurors 
once,  and  might  be  so  drawn  again. 

But  the  check  thus  given  the  crusaders  was  tem- 
porary— as  McKean  had  predicted  it  would  be.  After 
some  delay  and  a  fruitless  application  to  Washington, 
funds  for  such  prosecutions  as  were  deemed  desirable 
were  advanced  by  the  United  States  marshal.  Colonel 
Patrick,  and  the  business  of  "  using  up  Brigham " 
went  forward  once  more. 

One  small  barricade,  however,  remained  to  the  af- 
flicted Saints;  and  this  was  now  to  be  stormed.  The 
warden  of  the  territorial  penitentiary  was  a  Mormon 
— of  course.  On  August  2,  1871,  Colonel  Patrick,  as 
United  States  marshal,  took  possession  of  this  penal 
institution  under  authority  of  a  law  passed  the  pre- 
ceding January,  which  perhaps  applied  to  the  case, 
and  perhaps  did  not.  The  Mormon  warden  yielded 
under  protest,  but  he  yielded.  Preparations  for  the 
grand  attack  on  the  citadel  of  theocracy  were  now 
complete.     From  the  serving  of  a  warrant  to  the  in- 


THE  CRUSADE  DEFEATED     363 

fliction  of  capital  punishment,  every  process  of  law- 
was  in  the  hands  of  men  who  deemed  it  a  duty  and  a 
pleasure  to  humble  the  Mormon  monarch,  and  scatter 
his  adoring  court. 

There  was  no  delay  in  making  the  assault.  At  the 
September  term  of  court,  1871,  only  seven  Mormons 
were  included  in  the  jury  list.  Each  of  these  de- 
clared that  he  believed  that  plural  marriage  was  prac- 
tised in  accordance  with  a  revelation  from  God,  and 
that  if  he  had  to  choose  between  sustaining  the  revela- 
tion and  upholding  the  law,  the  law  would  have  to 
fall.  They  were  excused  from  service.  A  grand  jury 
composed  entirely  of  Gentiles  indicted  Brigham  for 
"  lewd  and  lascivious  cohabitation."  The  warrant  was 
served  on  him  October  2,  1871. 

The  law  under  which  these  indictments  were  found 
was  a  territorial  one,  passed  by  the  Mormons  them- 
selves. It  never  was  intended  to  apply  to  plural  mar- 
riage, but  was  designed  to  check  irregular  unions 
which  had  no  sanction  of  either  church  or  state. 
However  illegal,  a  polygamous  marriage  was  still  a 
marriage;  it  was  a  union  recognized  by  society,  and 
one  which  in  general  was  faithfully  observed  by  both 
parties  to  the  contract.  Yet  it  was  now  proposed  to 
define  Brigham's  plural  marriages  as  "  lewd  and 
lascivious  cohabitation,"  and  punish  him  under  a  law 
which  he  as  governor  had  signed.  Such  legal  con- 
struction is  permissible  in  comic  opera  and  historical 
fiction,  but  hardly  in  sober  fact  in  a  country  where  the 
manifest  intent  of  the  law-makers  is  of  vital  import 
in  determining  the  application  of  a  statute. 

Even  more  objectionable  to  the  Mormons  than  this 
effort  to  punish  polygamy  without  naming  it,  was  the 
language  held  by  Judge  McKean.    When  the  warrant 


364  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

was  served  Brigham  was  confined  at  home  by  illness. 
A  week  later  he  appeared  in  court,  and  his  attorney 
moved  to  quash  the  indictment,  pointing  out  that  it 
had  been  returned  by  a  jury  summoned  in  defiance  of 
Utah  law,  and  making  other  objections.  McKean 
denied  this  motion  in  an  address  of  which  the  follow- 
ing is  a  part. 

'*  Let  the  counsel  on  both  sides,  and  the  court  also  keep 
constantly  in  mind  the  uncommon  character  of  this  case. 
The  supreme  court  of  California  has  well  said :  *  Courts 
are  bound  to  take  notice  of  the  political  and  social  con- 
dition of  the  country  which  they  judicially  rule.'  It  is 
therefore  proper  to  say  that  while  the  case  at  bar  is 
called, '  The  People  versus  Brigham  Young,'  its  other  and 
real  title  is  *  Federal  Authority  versus  Polygamic  Theoc- 
racy.' The  government  of  the  United  States,  founded 
upon  a  written  constitution,  finds  within  its  jurisdiction 
another  government  claiming  to  come  from  God — im- 
perium  in  imperio — whose  policy  and  practices  are,  in 
grave  particulars,  at  variance  with  its  own.  The  one 
government  arrests  the  other,  in  the  person  of  its  chief, 
and  arraigns  it  at  this  bar.  A  system  is  on  trial  in  the 
person  of  Brigham  Young.  Let  all  concerned  keep  this 
fact  constantly  in  view;  and  let  that  government  rule 
without  a  rival  which  shall  prove  to  be  in  the  right." 

Unjudicial  zeal  has  seldom  scaled  loftier  heights 
than  that  reached  in  these  words  of  Judge  McKean. 
As  the  case  stood  after  the  Judge's  ruling,  Brig- 
ham was  indicted  for  lewd  cohabitation  that  he 
might  be  tried  for  polygamy  and  punished  for 
treason;  yet  the  prisoner  and  his  counsel  were 
gravely   bidden   to    observe    and    admire   the    "  un- 


THE  CRUSADE  DEFEATED     365 

common"  character  of  the  net  in  which  they  found 
themselves  entangled.  As  well  might  Luther,  after 
nailing  his  theses  to  the  church  door,  have  been  cited 
before  the  Pope  on  a  charge  of  disorderly  conduct, 
tried  for  defacing  church  property — and  sentenced 
as  a  heretic.  Brigham's  lawyers  filed  an  exception 
to  the  judge's  language,  but  that  was  the  most  they 
were  permitted  to  do. 

This  was  only  the  initial  stroke.  Several  of  Brig- 
ham's  most  devoted  followers  were  indicted  for  the 
same  offence.  Indictments  were  found  against  Brig- 
ham,  Daniel  H.  Wells,  and  several  others  for  mur- 
der, in  connection  with  the  killing  of  Richard  Yates 
during  the  "  Mormon  war."  Still  further  indictments 
were  returned  against  another  group  of  Saints — al- 
ways including  Brigham,  however — for  the  murder 
of  the  Aiken  party  in  the  spring  of  1857.  Thomas 
Hawkins  was  tried  for  adultery — this  being  another 
of  Judge  McKean's  definitions  of  plural  marriage — 
convicted,  and  sentenced  to  three  years'  imprisonment 
on  October  20.  Informers  multiplied  in  the  land, 
telling  tales  which  always  found  ready  credence  if 
they  were  sufidciently  bloody  and  applied  to  persons 
sufficiently  high  in  the  kingdom.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
"  mission  jurist "  were  in  a  fair  way  to  crush  those 
whom  he  could  not  convert. 

Brigham  met  these  multiplied  attacks  with  a  steady 
courage  which  must  have  aroused  the  admiration  of 
his  enemies.  His  bluff  and  bluster  dropped  from  him 
like  a  discarded  cloak;  and  he  faced  his  prosecutors, 
cool,  watchful,  determined — more  of  a  king  in  his 
hour  of  distress  than  in  all  the  years  of  his  unchal- 
lenged supremacy.  Not  for  an  instant  did  he  lose 
his  head.     Not  for  a  moment  did  he  allow  the  fer- 


366  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

vour  of  his  people  to  escape  bounds.  It  would  have 
been  easy  for  him  to  arouse  an  emeiite  among  his 
devoted  followers;  doubtless  also  it  would  have  been 
easy  for  him  to  escape  from  the  country,  and  live 
a  life  of  ease  outside  the  "  persecuting ''  Republic. 
Brigham  would  have  none  of  either  riot  or  flight. 
He  would  neither  retreat  before  the  overwhelming 
might  of  the  nation,  nor  suffer  his  worshipping  fol- 
lowers to  fling  themselves  against  its  bayonets. 

Up  to  this  time,  the  crusaders  had  carried  every- 
thing before  them;  but  now,  in  an  hour,  the  weapons 
were  struck  from  their  hands.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  in  the  Engelbrecht  case,  Judge  McKean 
had  declared  his  court  a  United  States  tribunal, 
rather  than  a  territorial  one;  had  disregarded  local 
law  in  drawing  a  jury;  and  had  rendered  a  heavy 
judgment  against  the  Mormon  officials  who  had 
poured  Engelbrecht's  liquors  into  the  gutter.  The 
officials  thus  mulcted  carried  their  case  to  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States — doubtless  with 
money  supplied  from  the  tithing  fund.  On  April  15, 
1872,  the  Supreme  Court  rendered  a  decision  freeing 
the  officials  of  the  judgment  against  them,  and  wreck- 
ing McKean's  carefully  planned  campaign.  For  the 
supreme  justices  unanimously  agreed  that  the  district 
courts  of  Utah  were  territorial  courts;  that  juries 
must  be  drawn  in  accordance  with  territorial  law, 
and  that  the  district  attorney  and  United  States  mar- 
shal appointed  by  the  President  must  confine  their 
activities  to  cases  arising  under  the  laws  and  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States. 

It  was  a  crushing  defeat  for  the  crusaders.  In 
their  zeal  to  end  a  regime  which  they  believed  both 
*:reasonable  and  immoral,  they  had  made  the  world- 


THE  CRUSADE  DEFEATED     367 

old  blunder  of  straining  the  law;  and  they  were  deal- 
ing with  an  antagonist  strong  enough  and  clever 
enough  to  take  advantage  of  every  such  slip.  All 
indictments  found  by  what  may  be  called  the  Mc- 
Kean  process  were  quashed  at  once;  and  the  Mormon 
kingdom  regained  at  a  stroke  nearly  everything  which 
a  two  years'  crusade  had  cost. 

Most  men  in  Brigham's  position  would  have  cele- 
brated such  a  triumph  by  offers  of  conciliation,  would 
have  avoided  giving  further  offence  to  the  all-power- 
ful Republic.  Not  so  the  '*  Lion  of  the  Lord."  He  had 
been  hounded  for  polygamy.  Very  well,  he  would 
let  the  nation  know  that  he  held  fast  to  that  dis- 
tasteful doctrine.  At  the  election  of  1872,  William  H. 
Hooper  was  notified  that  he  need  no  longer  serve 
as  delegate  in  Congress,  and  George  Q.  Cannon  was 
sent  in  his  place.  Hooper  was  a  monogamist.  Can- 
non was  a  polygamist,  an  Apostle,  a  hierarch,  and  a 
special  counsellor  to  Brigham.  Of  all  the  younger 
generation  then  coming  forward,  Cannon  was  fore- 
most in  the  regard  of  both  people  and  prophet  in  the 
Mormon  kingdom.  His  selection  as  delegate  was  a 
flat  defiance  of  the  United  States  government  to  do 
its  worst;  a  notification  that  the  kingdom  would  treat 
with  the  Republic  only  on  terms  of  substantial  equal- 
ity. There  was  a  time,  we  believe,  when  Brigham 
might  have  been  induced  to  trade  polygamy  for  state- 
hood. There  never  was  a  moment  when  he  was  ready 
to  surrender  polygamy  to  a  crusade.  He  was  always 
willing  to  barter — and  few  indeed  were  the  objects 
excluded  from  his  list  of  trading  stock.  But  sur- 
render he  would  not. 

Not  yet,  however,  was  ended  the  long  duel  between 
Brigham  and  Judge  McKean.     Chance  for  a  time 


868  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

gave  the  jurist  new  weapons  in  place  of  those  he  had 
lost.  Some  years  eariier,  the  father  of  Ann  Eliza 
Webb,  a  dashing  divorcee,  urged  her  in  marriage 
upon  Brigham  Young.  Neither  Brigham  nor  the 
young  woman  at  first  inclined  to  the  arrangement. 
The  prophet  was  approaching  old  age,  he  was  bur- 
dened with  imperial  cares,  he  had  already  unnum- 
bered consorts,  several  of  whom  were  young  and 
beautiful;  and  Sister  Webb  had  no  devout  leanings 
to  polygamy.  But  the  duty  to  see  that  every  lovely 
woman  shall  get  to  heaven  was  too  much  for  Brig- 
ham's  reluctance;  and  "Ann  Eliza'* — as  she  was 
called  throughout  the  realm — was  induced  to  yield 
under  paternal  persuasion  and  the  hint  that  her  fas- 
cinations would  soon  win  the  place  of  favourite  in  the 
prophet's  harem.  The  marriage  was  solemnized 
April  6,  1868 — celebrating  the  anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  the  church;  and  all  Zion  stood  agape 
with  respectful  curiosity  to  see  whether  "  Ann 
Eliza  "  could  supplant  "  Amelia  "  (Folsom) — the 
statuesque,  cold,  childless  beauty — who  had  reigned 
as  the  prophet's  favourite  for  six  years.  Brigham 
had  been  multifarious,  but  not  usually  fickle  in  his 
loves;  and  to  Amelia  he  continued  his  unwavering 
devotion.  Ann  Eliza  soon  dropped  from  the  role 
of  ordinary  wife  to  that  of  neglected  wife;  and  finally, 
July  28,  1873,  she  sued  Brigham  for  divorce,  and 
demanded  a  substantial  share  of  his  fortune. 

It  is  necessary  to  pause  here  for  a  moment  to  re- 
peat a  caution  given  several  times  before.  Ann  Eliza 
Webb  posed  as  Brigham's  nineteenth  wife,  and  cus- 
tom has  fixed  that  as  her  number.  There  is  just  as 
good  warrant  for  calling  her  the  twenty-ninth,  or  the 
hundred  and  nineteenth.     At  the  time  of  her  mar- 


ANN   ELIZA  WEBB  YOUNG,   AT  THE  TIME   SHE   SUED  BRIGHAM 
AS  HIS  "  NINETEENTH  WIFE  " 


THE  CRUSADE  DEFEATED     369 

riage  there  were  known  to  be  eighteen  other  women 
with  whom  Brigham  had  sustained  or  was  sustaining 
marital  relations.  Careful  search  probably  would 
have  doubled  the  number,  and  not  even  Brigham 
could  have  told  to  how  many  women  he  had  been 
"  sealed/'  The  marriage  ceremony  was  sufficient  to 
cover  cohabitation  in  every  case;  and  no  domestic 
census-taker  could  have  drawn  the  line  between  the 
three  sorts  of  spouses. 

Brigham's  answer  to  this  divorce  suit  was  a  bit 
startling.  He  pleaded  that  there  was  no  marriage 
between  himself  and  the  plaintiff  which  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  recognized;  and  therefore,  there 
was  no  occasion  for  divorce.  Judge  McKean  was 
plainly  embarrassed  by  the  situation,  yet  quite  as 
plainly  determined  to  use  it  to  the  injury  of  the  Mor- 
mon emperor.  On  February  25,  1875,  McKean  or- 
dered Brigham  to  pay  Ann  Eliza  $3,000  for  attor- 
ney's fees  and  $500  per  month  alimony  pending  a 
final  decision.  Brigham's  attorneys  took  an  excep- 
tion, and  prepared  to  appeal  to  the  supreme  court  of 
the  territory.  The  delay  thus  occasioned  did  not  suit 
Judge  McKean.  On  March  8,  he  cited  Brigham  to 
appear  before  him,  and  show  cause  why  he  should  not 
be  punished  for  contempt  of  court  in  not  having  paid 
the  required  money.  Brigham  appeared  in  court 
three  days  later,  and  after  a  short  argument  by  his 
attorneys,  was  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  $25  and  to 
be  confined  one  day  in  the  penitentiary.  He  was 
taken  to  his  home  by  the  deputy  marshal,  and  after 
dining  and  being  supplied  with  some  clothing,  was 
driven  to  the  jail.  Here,  he  was  locked  for  a  short 
time  in  a  cell,  and  then  allowed  to  pass  the  night  in 
a  room  opening  off  the  warden's  office.    The  follow- 


370  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

ing  day,  March  12,  1875,  ^^  walked  out  free,  into 
the  arms  of  a  worshipping  crowd  who  had  assembled 
to  do  him  homage. 

McKean  had  made  a  fatal  blunder  at  last  The 
animus  of  his  sentence  for  contempt  was  too  clear  to 
be  doubted  or  disguised,  and  almost  as  bad  was  the 
sanction  he  had  given  to  polygamy  by  his  award  of 
alimony.  The  Poland  bill,  signed  by  President  Grant 
nearly  a  year  before,  permitted  a  judge  to  grant  ali- 
mony to  a  woman  who  sued  to  have  a  marriage  de- 
clared void  because  of  a  previous  marriage.  But 
Ann  Eliza  was  suing,  not  to  have  a  marriage  annulled, 
but  to  get  a  divorce;  she  made  no  plea  of  ignorance 
to  gloze  her  relations  with  Brigham,  and  the  grant 
of  alimony  was  practically  a  recognition  of  polyg- 
amous marriages  as  legal  unions,  to  be  dissolved  only 
by  formal  divorce.  Four  days  after  Brigham  left 
the  prison,  a  telegram  arrived  in  Salt  Lake  City,  stat- 
ing that  McKean  had  been  removed  from  the  bench, 
and  that  a  successor  was  on  the  way. 

The  removal  of  Judge  McKean  was  perhaps  the 
greatest  of  Brigham's  later  victories.  Certainly  it 
was  the  one  which  gave  him  most  unalloyed  pleasure, 
and  his  people  the  strongest  assurance  of  Divine  pro- 
tection for  their  prophet  and  his  rule.  The  Ann 
Eliza  suit  still  dragged  on  without  coming  to  trial, 
but  no  one  doubted  how  it  would  end.  Brigham  was 
for  some  time  in  the  custody  of  the  United  States 
marshal,  but  never  again  was  he  required  to  spend  a 
night  in  jail.  The  "  Lion  of  the  Lord  "  had  once  more 
baffled  the  wilesi  of  the  hunters,  and  those  who  an- 
noyed him  had  been  removed  from  his  path.  No 
faithful  Mormon  questioned  that  the  Divine  guardian- 
ship thus  made  manifest  would  endure  to  the  end. 


THE  CRUSADE  DEFEATED     371 

Brigham's  mastery  had  not  lessened  during  the 
years  when  he  was  so  closely  assailed.  In  1874,  his 
fortunes  were  perhaps  at  the  lowest  ebb  they  had 
reached  since  the  Supreme  Court  had  freed  him  from 
a  criminal  prosecution  for  polygamy.  On  June  23d 
of  that  year,  President  Grant  signed  the  Poland  bill, 
a  measure  which  did  by  congressional  act  much  that 
Judge  McKean  had  sought  to  do  by  judicial  con- 
struction. It  deprived  the  probate  courts  of  Utah 
of  their  extensive  jurisdiction,  and  gave  large  powers 
to  federal  officials  in  pursuing  polygamy.  Such  a 
law,  interpreted  by  Judge  McKean,  was  calculated  to 
make  almost  any  man  doubt  the  temporal  benefits  of 
plural  marriage;  and  meantime,  that  implacable  Puri- 
tan, McKean,  had  control  of  the  divorce  suit  against 
the  Mormon  emperor.  Yet  even  under  such  circum- 
stances, Brigham  would  not  yield  an  inch.  Apostle 
George  Q.  Cannon  was  once  more  named  for  dele- 
gate to  Congress.  Election  riots  in  Salt  Lake  City 
that  year  were  of  a  serious  character;  and  in  the 
Tooele  district,  some  Gentile  miners  introduced  the 
latest  devices  in  ballot-box  stuffing,  but  all  in  vain. 
Delegate  Cannon  went  back  to  Congress,  to  represent, 
not  a  territory,  but  a  kingdom;  not  a  constituency, 
but  a  prince;  and  to  stand  as  a  living  example  of  that 
prince's  defiance  of  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  Re- 
public. 

Brigham  came  out  from  his  single  day  of  imprison- 
ment March  12,  1875.  Exactly  four  months  later, 
John  D.  Lee  was  brought  to  trial  for  the  first  time 
for  the  Mountain  Meadows  horror.  The  federal  offi- 
cials had  worked  up  their  case  until  they  felt  certain, 
not  only  of  convicting  Lee,  but  of  implicating  the 
higher  officials  of  the  church,  including  Brigham  him- 


372  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

self.  They  presented  their  case  with  skill  and  energy 
— and  the  jury  promptly  disagreed.  The  word  of 
the  "  brethren "  had  been  passed  to  all  prospective 
jurors,  and  it  reached  those  who  sat  in  the  box.  Lee 
was  not  to  be  convicted  until  the  federal  authorities 
should  abandon  their  effort  to  connect  the  head  of 
the  church  with  the  massacre  at  Mountain  Meadows. 

By  this  time,  Gentile  officials  were  learning  some- 
thing of  the  tenacity  of  Brigham's  control.  When 
Lee's  second  trial  came  in  September,  1876,  the  United 
States  district  attorney  took  pains  to  make  it  clear  that 
he  was  prosecuting  only  the  man  before  him  in  the 
dock,  and  had  no  wish,  desire,  or  expectation  of  ob- 
taining evidence  against  the  high  and  holy  men  whom 
Providence  had  put  in  control  of  Utah  affairs — and 
whom  all  efforts  of  the  United  States  government  had 
failed  to  put  out  of  control.  The  result  of  this  frank 
offer  of  compromise  was  gratifying.  Lee  was  con- 
victed, as  he  deserved  to  be;  and  on  March  23,  1877, 
under  direction  of  Colonel  William  Nelson,  the  United 
States  marshal,  he  was  shot  at  the  scene  of  his  fright- 
ful crime.  Lee  maintained,  and  with  some  justice, 
that  he  was  thrown  to  the  wolves  as  a  sacrifice;  but 
assuredly,  no  sacrifice  was  ever  less  deserving  of  sym- 
pathy. 

On  April  20,  1877,  the  long-drawn  divorce  case 
came  to  a  sudden  ending.  Judge  Schaeffer,  before 
whom  the  trial  was  joined,  ruled  that  Ann  Eliza  Webb 
never  had  been  legally  married  to  Brigham  Young, 
and  therefore  did  not  need  and  could  not  get  a  divorce 
from  him.  All  orders  for  alimony  were  cancelled,  but 
the  judge  rather  illogically  assessed  the  costs  against 
the  defendant.  The  cause  celehre  had  dragged  on  for 
four  years;  it  had  sold  many  books,  piled  up  large 


THE  CRUSADE  DEFEATED     S73 

lecture  receipts,  inspired  countless  editorials  and  ser- 
mons, and  broken  a  United  States  judge.  But  it  had 
not  broken  the  man  it  was  designed  to  ruin.  Its  end- 
ing, taken  in  connection  with  the  failure  of  prosecu- 
tions for  polygamy,  was  virtually  a  confession  that 
the  federal  government  could  neither  protect  the  plural 
wife  nor  punish  the  polygamous  husband.  Brigham 
might  consider  the  time  and  money  well  spent  which 
procured  such  a  certificate  from  such  a  source. 

His  kingdom  seemed  to  be  acknowledged  of  man 
as  well  as  *'  ordained  of  God/' 


XXXIV 
STILL  "  LION  OF  THE  LORD  " 

BRIGHAM  was  now  at  the  zenith  of  his  worldly- 
fortunes.  Thirty  years  had  passed  since  the 
creaking  wagon  that  was  his  sick-bed  had  lum- 
bered down  the  half-broken  trail  of  Emigration  canon, 
to  the  valley  of  his  vision  and  his  hope.  His  handful 
of  heroic  followers  had  become  a  myriad.  The  pov- 
erty of  a  little  band  had  changed  to  the  wealth  of  a 
mighty  community;  and  their  devotion  to  their  chief 
had  grown  with  their  numbers  and  his  triumphs.  The 
seeming  desert  had  uncovered  its  fertility.  There  was 
no  want.  There  was  no  serious  schism  within,  and  no 
imminent  menace  from  without. 

The  outcasts  of  Illinois  had  made  an  empire;  an 
empire  not  only  in  the  assurance  of  Brigham  and  the 
faith  of  his  subjects,  but  in  the  scarcely  veiled  recog- 
nition of  the  Republic  and  the  world.  Brigham's  am- 
bassador sat  in  the  halls  of  Congress.  Brigham's 
agents  made  treaties  with  foreign  governments  for  the 
protection  and  profit  of  Mormon  residents  abroad;  and 
every  large  interest  (with  the  bare  exception  of  min- 
ing) which  desired  security  and  advantage  within  his 
realm  negotiated  with  Brigham,  in  full  knowledge  that 
the  word  of  the  king  was  at  once  contract  and  fulfil- 
ment, the  law,  the  judgment,  and  the  execution. 

Here  again  we  must  pause  to  emphasize  a  fact  little 
understood,  and  where  understood,  too  lightly  es- 
teemed :  the  fact  that  Brigham's  assumption  of  a  Divine 

374 


STILL  "  LION  OF  THE  LORD  "         375 

right  to  rule  was  vindicated  to  his  people  by  the  mar- 
vellous success  of  that  rule.  Many  men  have  won 
lands  from  savagery  to  civilization,  to  be  rewarded 
only  with  placid  gratitude  or  dismissed  in  quick  for- 
getfulness  by  their  successors.  But  they  were  only 
men,  while  Brigham  was — so  he  claimed — the  prophet 
of  God.  Each  victory  of  his  career  piled  itself  on  each 
preceding  victory  as  cumulative  proof  that  he  was  the 
king  anointed  of  God,  and  that  the  empire  he  had 
founded  in  the  wilderness  was  to  be  the  everlasting 
inheritance  of  his  people.  It  was  impossible  to  shake 
the  faith  of  the  ordinary  Mormon  in  Brigham  Young. 
He  had  been  a  witness  of  Brigham's  triumphs  in  con- 
tests with  man  and  Nature;  he  had  seen  Brigham's 
courage  and  strategy  win  a  score  of  times  in  struggles 
with  earthly  powers;  he  had  seen  the  will  of  the  great 
Republic  bow  before  the  rod  of  Zion's  ruler — and  that 
ruler  never  failed  to  teach  that  his  success  was  proof 
of  Divine  authority.  That  teaching  remains  to  this 
day  the  mainspring  of  Mormon  solidarity  and  dis- 
cipline. Now,  as  then,  the  survival  of  the  kingdom  is 
cited  as  the  only  necessary  evidence  of  God's  promise 
and  purpose  that  it  should  survive.  Now,  as  then, 
the  increasing  wealth  and  power  of  the  kingdom  are 
proclaimed  as  proof  that  it  must  eventually  overthrow 
all  other  governments  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  And 
now,  as  then,  the  assurance  of  the  Mormon  kingdom — 
its  victories,  its  persistence,  its  almost  sublime  self- 
satisfaction — commands  a  thousand  allies  in  the  un- 
believing but  profit-hungry  world.  Gentiles  in  Zion 
paraphrase  Brigham's  old  aphorism  about  the  In- 
dians, and  say :  "  It  is  cheaper  to  feed  the  Mormon 
church  than  to  fight  it";  and  captains  of  industry. 


376  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

finance,  and  politics  in  the  nation  at  large  take  it  at  its 
own  valuation. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1877,  the  point  which  this 
history  has  now  reached,  Brigham  himself  paused  in 
gratified  contemplation  of  the  peace  which  had  come 
to  his  power.  With  no  apparent  premonition  of  his 
death,  which  was  hovering  near,  he  remarked  in  con- 
versation :  "  Now  the  kingdom  can  spread.  The 
machinations  of  our  enemies  have  all  been  over- 
thrown. For  the  first  time  since  I  heard  the  gospel 
I  feel  that  we  are  free  from  tribulation  by  the  wicked.'* 

He  was  soon  to  find  the  rest  for  himself  which  he 
had  erroneously  predicted  for  the  church.  With  the 
cessation  of  legal  troubles  at  home  and  apparent  peace 
abroad  Brigham  set  himself  the  task  of  putting  the 
Lord's  house  in  order.  He  organized  new  stakes  of 
Zion.  He  projected  new  missionary  and  colonizing 
labours.  He  selected  vigorous  personalities  to  take 
the  place  of  men  who  had  fallen  into  inutile  routine. 
Some  of  his  aggressive  men  had  grown  away  from 
him  in  their  financial  operations.  He  planned  the  con- 
solidation of  their  interests  into  institutions  which 
should  take  their  license  to  live  from  the  ruler  of  the 
kingdom  and  should  therefore  pay  deference  to  his 
will.  But  all  this  activity  and  all  these  plans  to 
further  solidify  his  power  at  the  capital,  and  to  push 
back  the  horizon  of  his  empire,  were  to  be  but  the  last 
flash  of  his  creative  genius  and  his  autocratic  and  mo- 
nopolistic will. 

On  August  19,  1877,  ^c  spoke  at  the  organization 
of  a  new  stake  of  Zion.  Four  days  later,  he  was 
taken  with  cholera-morbus.  The  difficulty  quickly  de- 
veloped into  inflammation  of  the  bowels — a  disorder 
to  which  he  had  been  subject  at  intervals  since  the 


STILL  "  LION  OF  THE  LORD  "         377 

time  of  his  severe  trials  in  the  exodus  from  Nauvoo. 
Word  of  his  serious  condition  went  by  wire  through- 
out the  kingdom  and  all  the  Saints  joined  in  prayer 
for  his  recovery.  His  elders  administered  to  him  and 
promised  in  the  name  of  Israel's  God  that  he  should 
be  raised  up  to  continue  his  divine  work  in  the  world. 
But  Brigham  had  notions  of  his  own.  Administration 
by  the  elders — the  laying  on  of  hands  for  the  healing 
of  the  body — was  a  doctrine  for  a  child  with  mem- 
branous croup,  or  a  barren  woman,  or  a  man  with 
pneumonia;  but  a  royal  case  of  bowel  complaint  de- 
manded something  more.  The  physicians  were  called 
in  and  they  used  all  their  Babylonish  skill  and  drugs; 
the  Prophet  steadily  failed;  and  on  August  29,  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  at  his  home  in  the  "  Beehive 
House  "  in  Salt  Lake  City,  Brigham  Young  passed 
away.  He  had  been  wavering  on  the  borderland  of 
consciousness  for  hours,  and  his  last  words,  uttered 
shortly  before  he  died,  were:  "Joseph!  Joseph! 
Joseph ! "  Brigham  Young  had  passed  a  thousand 
dangers.  He  had  been  threatened  by  an  army  and 
prosecuted  by  the  law.  For  more  than  twenty  years 
the  mass  of  the  people  in  the  United  States  had  ex- 
pected to  see  him  imprisoned  or  executed  as  a  traitor. 
And  he  died  at  a  good  old  age  in  his  bed,  surrounded 
by  a  worshipping  court,  in  the  capital  of  an  empire 
which  he  had  built  and  which  he  maintained  to  the 
hour  of  his  death  in  the  heart  of  a  republic. 

Thus  closed  the  career  of  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able men  ever  born  on  the  western  continent.  We  will 
not  here  say  one  of  the  greatest;  though  many  a  hero 
occupies  a  seemingly  permanent  place  in  the  hall  of 
fame  whose  abilities  and  achievements  are  not  a  tithe 
of  those  of  the  "Lion  of  the  Lord."     Perhaps  the 


378  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

physiological  historian  of  the  future  will  find  a  proof 
for  Brigham's  greatness  in  the  high  abilities  of  many  of 
his  descendants,  and  this  often  in  lines  wherein  their 
sire's  mastership  helped  them  not  a  whit. 

Tens  of  thousands  of  mourners  came  from  all  parts 
of  Zion  to  attend  Brigham  Young's  funeral,  which 
was  held  in  the  vast  tabernacle  which  he  had  designed 
and  built.  There  was  deep  mourning  among  the 
Saints,  but,  strange  to  say,  no  fear.  Brigham  himself 
had  shown  to  the  Mormons,  by  his  leadership  upon  the 
death  of  Joseph,  how  the  passing  of  one  founder  only 
made  room  for  another  ruler  of  equal  or  greater  gen- 
ius. At  the  services,  George  Q.  Cannon  expressed  the 
pathos  of  personal  and  public  feeling;  and  John  Tay- 
lor, President  of  the  Quorum  of  Apostles,  who  was 
to  succeed  Brigham  in  the  presidency  of  the  church, 
expressed  the  calm  unemotional  certainty  that  Brig- 
ham's  death  left  no  gap  which  could  not  be  filled  in 
the  rulership  of  the  kingdom,  that  God  would  endow 
his  prophets  with  wisdom,  and  that  Zion  would  ad- 
vance with  accelerated  momentum  to  its  place  of 
sovereignty  in  the  world. 

Brigham  Young's  body  was  buried  in  the  heart  of 
one  of  the  blocks  which  he  had  selected  as  his  in- 
heritance when  he  first  came  to  the  Salt  Lake  valley. 
His  grave  is  covered  by  a  slab  of  granite  weighing 
many  tons,  and  surrounded  by  a  wrought-iron  fence. 
About  a  half  acre  of  space  surrounding  is  given  to 
lawn  and  flowers.  To  this  place  Saints  and  travellers 
alike  pay  pilgrimage  of  devotion  and  curiosity. 

For  a  little  time  an  amusing  error  was  .circulated 
among  the  Gentiles  of  the  kingdom,  and  it  gained 
hopeful  credence  among  the  faithful:  that  Brigham 
was  not  dead  and  that  a  wax  figure  had  been  sub- 


STILL  "  LION  OF  THE  LORD  "         379 

stituted  for  the  funeral  ceremonies;  that  he  intended 
to  show  a  miracle  to  the  world  by  his  resurrection. 
For  some  time  the  Saints  hoped,  as  some  of  the  Gen- 
tiles feared,  that  this  might  be  true.  But  both  hope 
and  fear  were  soon  dissipated  by  the  assertive  way 
in  which  John  Taylor  took  charge  of  the  affairs  of 
the  kingdom,  and  the  attitude  which  Taylor  assumed 
toward  the  estate  of  Brigham  Young. 

Brigham  left  a  fortune  well  above  two  million  dol- 
lars in  the  valuations  of  that  time — potentially  it  was 
worth  tens  of  millions.  This  fortune  he  divided  by 
will  among  nineteen  "  classes "  of  wives  and  off- 
spring. The  division  into  classes  did  not  mean  any 
particular  difference  in  the  valuation  of  inheritance 
to  each;  it  was  made  to  give  practically  equal  recog- 
nition to  nineteen  parts  of  his  large  family.  The  only 
notable  favouritism  which  was  shown  in  his  will  was 
in  his  bequest  to  his  favourite  wife,  Amelia  Folsom 
Young.  To  her  he  devised  the  famous  Gardo  house, 
then  just  completed,  in  which  he  had  intended  to 
install  her  as  a  royal  consort  in  royal  splendour.  The 
Gardo  house  was  called  and  is  called  to  this  day 
"  The  Amelia  Palace,"  though  Amelia  never  occupied 
it.  John  Taylor  demanded  and  received  it  for  the 
church  from  the  executors  of  Brigham's  will  in  a 
settlement  of  the  estate,  and  it  has  since  passed  to 
other  ownership. 

Brigham  said  in  public  not  long  before  his  death 
that  he  had  grown  rich  in  finding  work  for  the  poor 
and  paying  them  for  it.  His  enemies  declared  that 
he  had  grown  rich  by  using  the  tithing  fund  to  ad- 
vance his  own  projects.  There  is  truth  in  both  state- 
ments. 

He  was  essentially  a  builder  and  a  manager.     He 


880  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

hated  idleness,  and  he  loathed  inefficiency.  He 
created  the  Mormon  empire,  and  by  all  commercial 
rules  he  had  a  right  to  exact  pay  for  his  building. 
His  fortune,  we  repeat,  was  less  than  many  a  captain 
of  industry  whom  the  world  calls  honourable  has  col- 
lected for  services  insignificant  compared  to  those 
rendered  by  Brigham  Young.  Also,  he  had  the 
money-making  instinct,  and  on  at  least  two  occa- 
sions— the  departure  of  the  garrison  from  Camp 
Floyd  and  the  arrival  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad — 
his  legitimate  or  quasi-legitimate  chances  for  gain 
were  very  great. 

But  these  things  alone  neither  explain  nor  excuse 
his  fortune.  Brigham  did  not  build  his  kingdom  as 
a  business  enterprise,  but  as  a  holy  sanctuary  for  a 
distressed  church.  To  accept  the  pay  of  a  real  estate 
promoter  for  the  services  of  a  prophet  and  a  king 
shocks  the  moral  sense  of  mankind — and  justly. 
There  is  nothing  sacred  about  the  rags  of  Lazarus, 
and  nothing  especially  sinful  about  the  purple  and 
fine  linen  of  Dives.  But  the  world  has  long  since 
learned  that  he  who  serves  a  cause  with  his  whole 
heart  and  soul  has  little  time  or  chance  to  serve  him- 
self. Brigham  gave  w^onderful  service  and  unques- 
tionable loyalty  to  his  people — ^but  never  for  a  mo- 
ment did  he  lose  sight  of  his  own  interests,  never  did 
he  forget  the  revelation  which  commanded  him  to 
"care  for  his  family."  Brigham  had  undisputed 
charge  of  the  tithing  fund,  which  must  have  amounted 
to  nearly  a  million  dollars  a  year  by  the  time  of  his 
death.  He  gave  no  accounting  of  this  vast  income. 
He  drew  no  sharp  line  between  the  funds  which  he 
held  for  himself  and  the  funds  which  he  held  in 
trust   for  the  church.     In  such  a  case,  the  unrep- 


STILL  "  LION  OF  THE  LORD  "         381 

resented  party  always  suffers.  The  story  that  Brig- 
ham  once  squared  accounts  with  the  church  by  credit- 
ing himself  with  $967,000  "  for  services  rendered," 
has  been  denied  many  times,  and  certainly  lacks  spe- 
cific proofs.  But  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  tale  at 
least  represents  Brigham's  habitual  way  of  thinking. 

The  size  of  Brigham's  fortune  and  its  method  of 
acquirement  are  of  more  significance  as  showing  the 
materialistic  and  temporal  character  of  the  kingdom 
which  he  built,  and  which  his  successors  maintain. 
In  the  early  teachings  of  the  church,  it  was  assumed 
by  all  the  faithful  that  the  Saints  must  devote  them- 
selves to  immediate  preparation  for  the  second  com- 
ing of  Christ.  A  temple  was  built  that  Christ  might 
have  a  place  fittingly  prepared  from  which  to  rule 
the  world  when  He  came.  Long  before  Brigham's 
death,  this  faith  was  so  overlaid  by  worldly  activities 
that  it  had  place  neither  in  the  purpose  of  the  king- 
dom nor  in  the  thoughts  of  the  Saints — except  as 
some  dreamer  like  Joseph  Morris  might  read  Prophet 
Smith's  predictions,  and  rashly  fix  a  date  for  the 
coming  of  the  Heavenly  Prince.  The  belief  in  a 
divine  mission  remained  as  firm  as  ever,  but  that  mis- 
sion was  no  longer  concerned  with  spiritual  advan- 
tages. Neither  in  Brigham's  day  nor  now  can  the 
devout  Mormon  see  the  anomaly  of  having  a  tem- 
poral kingdom  built  in  place  of  a  heavenly  kingdom; 
of  having  commerce  harnessed  to  theology;  of  the 
idea  that  God  Almighty,  Creator  and  Possessor  of  the 
Universe,  wants  ten  per  cent  of  every  human  crea- 
ture's income  held  in  trust  for  Him  by  a  self-chosen 
and  self -perpetuating  line  of  priests  and  kings. 

The  most  insatiable  and  not  altogether  the  most 
creditable  interest  in  Brigham  centres  about  his  marl- 


882  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

tal  experiences.  We  have  already  explained  the  im- 
possibility of  saying  how  many  wives  he  had — Ann 
Eliza  claimed  to  be  the  nineteenth,  but  according  to 
a  semi-official  biography  published  shortly  after  the 
monarch's  death,  she  was  No.  25.  In  the  early  days 
of  his  Utah  emperorship,  all  his  wives  lodged  in  the 
"Beehive  House"  and  the  "Lion  House";  concern- 
ing which  a  thousand  stories  were  told.  At  this  time, 
all  the  work  of  his  household  was  done  by  his  wives, 
and  one  of  them  served  as  school-teacher  to  the  chil- 
dren of  all.  They  dined  then  at  a  common  table, 
Brigham  sitting  at  the  head,  with  his  legal  wife,  Mary 
Ann  Angell,  on  one  hand,  and  the  reigning  favourite 
on  the  other. 

One  of  his  favourites,  Mary  Van  Cott,  presented 
him  with  an  heir  when  he  was  in  his  seventieth  year. 
In  his  will,  drawn  some  years  later,  Brigham  bravely 
acknowledges  in  advance  as  his  own  any  child  born 
to  any  of  his  wives  within  nine  months  following  his 
death.  This  confidence  was  justified,  and  he  did  not 
wait  until  the  writing  of  his  will  to  testify  to  it.  His 
sermons  on  many  occasions  show  him  the  possessor 
of  at  least  the  usual  quantity  of  masculine  jealousy, 
but  that  jealousy  seldom  showed  itself  in  concrete 
form. 

His  collection  of  wives  included  many  of  the  finest 
women  of  Utah,  both  from  an  intellectual  and  a  phys- 
ical point  of  view.  Altogether,  we  may  say  of  Brig- 
ham as  Townsend  says  of  Mohammed,  that  he  was 
a  lover  and  possessor  of  women,  whose  sensuousness 
never  degenerated  into  mere  sensuality. 

Like  many  of  his  much-married  Apostles,  Brigham 
was  called  a  good  family  man.  He  was  a  good  pro- 
vider for  his  households.     He  was  gracious  to  his 


STILL  "  LION  OF  THE  LORD  "         383 

wives,  and  tender  to  most  of  his  children.  At  the 
death  of  one  of  his  favourite  wives,  Emeline  Free, 
Brigham  mournfully  walked  alone  from  her  house  to 
the  church  undertaker's  establishment  and  there  sadly 
made  arrangements  for  the  casket  and  the  funeral. 
Brigham  did  not  do  this  to  be  spectacular — he  had 
no  occasion  to  use  such  petty  aids  for  his  fame;  but 
that  he  had  refused  the  use  of  his  carriage  and  the 
companionship  of  his  counsellors  on  this  occasion,  was 
told  throughout  Zion  at  every  gathering  of  the  good 
sisters  as  a  demonstration  of  his  gentleness  and  a 
proof  of  the  love  which  the  Divine  ordination  plants 
in  the  male  heart  toward  the  female. 

Avarice  is  said  to  be  the  vice  of  old  age;  and  in 
a  way,  it  showed  itself  in  Brigham's  declining  years. 
He  was  no  keener  for  personal  gain  than  before,  but 
he  came  to  set  more  and  more  store  on  material  suc- 
cess. In  one  instance,  shortly  before  his  death,  he 
appointed  a  local  Shylock  to  be  president  of  a  stake. 
The  man  was  a  note-shaver  and  money-loaner — on 
the  hardest  kind  of  terms.  His  appointment  was 
secretly  resented  by  the  whole  population  of  the  stake. 
But  the  appointment  was  made  and  not  revoked,  and 
Brigham  rebuked  the  brethren  for  their  suspected 
murmuring  in  a  scathing  sermon,  wherein  he  praised 
the  new  president  for  having  diligently  served  his 
own  interests  and  thereby  given  proof  that  he  could 
serve  the  Lord. 

Every  year,  Brigham  made  the  rounds  of  his  im- 
mediate empire.  His  visit  to  the  northern  settle- 
ments lasted  usually  three  or  four  weeks;  that  to  the 
southern  towns  about  twice  as  long.  He  was  accom- 
panied on  these  trips  by  a  considerable  number  of  his 
courtiers,  and  by  one  or  more  of  his  wives.     They 


384  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

were  royal  progresses,  and  were  treated  as  such.  At 
each  town,  the  visiting  monarch  was  met  by  deputa- 
tions of  citizens  and  officials;  and  in  each  place  where 
he  stopped  for  more  than  a  casual  halt,  he  gave  clear 
indications  of  his  imperial  pleasure.  In  earlier  years, 
his  scolding  sermons  included  everything  in  their 
scope,  from  the  proper  education  of  children  to  the 
nature  of  women's  sunbonnets,  and  the  character  of 
community  fences.  Toward  the  close  of  his  life,  his 
harsh  speech  was  modified,  but  he  continued  to  be 
interested  in  everything,  and  to  express  his  views  as 
those  of  one  who  has  a  right  to  give  orders  on  all 
subjects. 

If  Brigham  had  a  weakness,  it  was  one  which  has 
afflicted  despots  since  the  days  of  Khufu — a  love  of 
heaping  up  huge  public  buildings.  The  gigantic  taber- 
nacle and  the  far  more  costly  temple  in  Salt  Lake 
City  were  a  serious  drain  on  the  resources  of  the  com- 
munity. In  smaller  settlements,  the  effort  was  even 
more  severely  felt.  Whether  this  drain  was  com- 
pensated by  the  resultant  unity  of  community  effort 
is  a  question  to  which  men  will  give  different  answers. 
Our  own  view  is  that  the  specific  cost  of  the  great 
temple  is  trifling  compared  to  the  cost  of  that  sup- 
pression of  individuality  which  made  the  temple 
possible. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  public  works  under  Brig- 
ham's  regime  were  mostly  spectacular  in  character. 
The  temple,  the  tabernacle,  the  theatre,  were  wonders 
whose  like  was  unknown  in  any  new  Gentile  city  of 
similar  size  and  wealth.  But  laboratories,  libraries, 
and  hospitals  were  conspicuous  by  their  absence. 

The  point  has  been  made  clear  in  preceding  chap- 
ters that  at  the  death  of  Brigham  Young  his  empire 


STILL  «  LION  OF  THE  LORD  "         385 

comprised  Utah  as  its  centre  and  held  possession  and 
political  control  of  choice  spots  from  Canada  to 
Mexico.  One  of  the  strong  evidences  of  Brigham's 
genius  as  a  ruler  is  the  fact  that  he  had  so  well  pre- 
pared that  extensive  realm  to  survive  and  flourish 
after  he  should  have  passed  away.  No  other  single 
thing  so  completely  marks  and  proves  the  difference 
between  Brigham  and  Joseph. 

At  the  death  of  the  prophet  Joseph,  the  church  be- 
gan to  disintegrate  immediately,  and  only  the  master- 
ful hand  of  Brigham  kept  it  from  going  to  pieces  al- 
together. At  the  death  of  Brigham,  the  church  stood 
secure.  There  were  no  schisms,  no  revolts,  no  impor- 
tant apostasies.  The  kingdom  went  on,  though  the 
king  was  dead.  But  it  was  a  kingdom  of  the  dead 
monarch's  fashioning;  and  to-day,  in  every  corner 
of  the  Mormon  empire,  one  may  trace  the  handiwork 
of  Brigham  Young. 


XXXV 

THE  KINGDOM  ENDURES 

AT  the  principal  comer  of  Temple  Square  in  Salt 
Lake  City  rises  a  figure  of  bronze  on  a  ped- 
estal of  granite — the  monument  to  Brigham 
Young.  The  great  business  manager  of  Mormonism 
is  standing  in  calm  but  alert  attitude,  as  he  so  often 
stood  in  life.  His  back  is  turned  on  the  great  tem- 
ple— symbolic  of  the  fervid  faith  of  the  people  he 
ruled  so  long.  His  face  is  to  the  south,  that  his  eyes 
may  look  upon  Zion's  Bank,  and  Zion's  Co-operative 
Mercantile  Institution;  and  toward  these  his  open 
hand  is  outstretched.  Whether  he  is  conferring  a 
blessing  or  demanding  a  dividend  the  sculptor  has  not 
made  clear. 

That  statue  of  the  real  founder  of  Mormonism, 
with  the  spiritual  things  of  the  church  behind  him, 
and  the  material  values  of  the  world  before,  is  sym- 
bolic of  the  empire  which  he  built.  That,  likewise,  has 
turned  from  doctrines  to  dividends.  Behind  that  also 
is  the  temple,  and  before  it  are  the  courts  of  Dives. 
In  the  past  are  heroic  faith  and  steadfast  endurance. 
In  the  present,  and  looming  larger  in  the  near  future, 
are  banks  and  stores  and  factories  and  railroads,  pro- 
cured tariffs,  and  secret  rebates. 

In  avarice  as  in  heroism,  the  kingdom  is  but  the 
lengthened  shadow  of  the  bronze  caliph  on  his  ped- 
estal.   Its  glories  and  its  failings  are  his  own. 


BRIGHAM  YOUNG'S  MONUMENT 

His   statue   represents  him   with   his  back   to   the   temple  and   his   hand 
outstretched  to  the  Zion's  bank 


THE  KINGDOM  ENDURES  387 

At  the  death  of  Brigham,  there  was  promise  of  a 
change.  Under  his  successor,  John  Taylor,  the  king- 
dom seemed  to  turn  a  while  from  that  worship  of 
material  success  which  Brigham  frankly  avowed, 
Taylor  demanded  a  sharp  accounting  from  Brigham's 
estate.  He  separated  the  funds  which  he  held  as  trus- 
tee from  those  of  his  own  private  fortune.  He  sought 
to  exalt  the  devotional  side  of  his  church-state,  and 
to  curb  its  increasing  anxiety  for  wealth  and  political 
power.  For  a  time,  he  and  his  immediate  successor 
seemed  to  make  progress  along  this  line.  But  the 
bent  wood  sprang  back  into  place;  the  essential  na- 
ture of  the  organization  which  Brigham  had  be- 
queathed to  the  kingdom  triumphed  over  the  pass- 
ing whim  of  a  passing  potentate;  and  soon  the  suc- 
cession came  to  one  who  had  no  quarrel  with  money- 
changers, provided  they  were  ready  to  share  their 
profits  with  the  anointed  of  the  Lord. 

Joseph  F.  Smith,  present  president  of  the  Mor- 
mon church  and  ruler  of  the  Mormon  kingdom,  is 
likewise  president  of,  or  officer  in,  a  score  of  financial, 
commercial,  and  manufacturing  institutions.  To  give 
an  up-to-date  list  of  his  enterprises  is  impossible,  for 
this  prophet,  seer,  and  revelator  to  all  the  world  has 
not  lately  been  on  the  witness  stand.  The  last  de- 
tailed information  on  this  point  is  contained  in  his 
testimony  before  the  Senate  committee  which  was 
investigating  the  right  of  Apostle  Reed  Smoot  to  sit 
in  the  United  States  Senate.  At  that  time,  Joseph 
F.  Smith  was  president  of  Zion's  Co-operative  Mer- 
cantile Institution,  one  of  the  strongest  commercial 
organizations  in  the  West.  He  was  president  of 
Zion's  Savings  Bank  and  Trust  Company,  where  the 
humble  Mormon  people  keep  their  savings.     He  was 


888  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

president  of  the  State  Bank  of  Utah,  the  chief  com- 
mercial bank  of  the  hierarchy.  He  was  president  of 
the  Salt  Lake  Knitting  Company,  which  manufactures 
the  sacred  undergarments  that  each  Mormon  wears 
through  life  after  he  takes  his  endowments.  He  was 
president  of  the  Utah  Light  and  Power  Company, 
which  got  a  fifty-year  blanket  franchise  on  the  streets 
of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  then  sold  out  to  the  Harriman 
interests.  He  was  president  of  the  Utah  Sugar  Com- 
pany, a  local  branch  of  the  sugar  trust;  of  the  Inland 
Salt  Company,  which  sustains  the  same  relation  to 
the  national  salt  trust;  of  the  Consolidated  Wagon 
and  Machine  Company,  which  is  a  selling  trust  in 
agricultural  implements.  He  was  president  of  a 
summer  resort,  of  a  dramatic  association,  of  a 
railroad. 

More  important  than  all  else,  Joseph  F.  Smith  was 
and  is  master  of  a  tithing  fund  of  approximately 
$4,000,000  per  year;  an  unfailing  river  of  liquid 
capital,  which  rises  in  springs  of  faith  on  a  hundred 
thousand  farms  and  workshops,  and  flows  through 
appointed  channels  to  that  secret,  silent  reservoir  of 
gold,  from  which  only  the  Mormon  sultan  and  his 
designated  favourites  may  dip.  As  head  of  the  king- 
dom, Joseph  F.  Smith  is  absolute  master  and  owner 
of  this  vast  income  and  its  yet  vaster  accumulations; 
and  no  human  being  can  hold  him  to  account  for  a 
dollar.  Courts  have  decided,  in  substance,  that  Smith 
is  trustee  for  God,  rather  than  for  the  people;  and 
therefore  nothing  less  than  Divine  authority  is  com- 
petent to  compel  an  opening  of  the  books.  Since  he 
is  likewise  the  only  man  now  living  through  whom 
God  deigns  to  hold  converse  with  the  world.  Smith's 
grip  on  the  tithing  fund  seems  fairly  secure. 


THE  KINGDOM  ENDURES  ^89 

And  this,  too,  is  Brigham's  handiwork.  He  would 
not  take  pride  in  it,  but  he  could  not  deny  it.  He 
might  claim,  and  truly,  that  when  he  was  master  of 
the  tithes,  no  destitute  Mormon  was  sent  to  the  poor- 
house  in  his  old  age,  and  make  scathing  comparison 
with  the  records  of  to-day.  He  might  claim,  again 
with  truth,  that  he  built  the  kingdom  over  which  he 
tyrannized,  and  that  the  wealth  which  he  dispensed 
with  such  arbitrary  hand  was  in  some  sort  his  own 
creation.  He  might  rage  as  of  old  at  the  present  sul- 
tan, whose  rule  is  an  accident  of  inheritance,  not  a 
triumph  of  personality;  and  whose  wealth  is  the  gift 
of  a  church,  not  the  product  of  his  financial  genius. 
But  these  are  changes  which  come  in  any  monarchy; 
they  do  not  lessen  Brigham's  responsibility  for  creat- 
ing the  system  which  has  fallen  into  such  hands.  He 
designed  and  enforced  this  tax  on  faith  and  industry; 
he  asserted  and  maintained  an  irresponsible  despotism 
in  the  midst  of  the  freest  republic  on  earth.  The  per- 
version of  that  theocracy,  the  misuse  of  that  tax,  come 
back  at  last  to  the  "  Lion  of  the  Lord,''  and  claim  heir- 
ship in  his  household. 

As  in  finance,  so  in  other  matters.  After  Brig- 
ham's  death,  pressure  by  the  federal  government  com- 
pelled his  successors  to  yield  their  pretensions  for  a 
time.  They  renounced  the  practice  of  polygamy. 
They  pledged  their  sacred  honour  to  take  the  church 
out  of  politics.  By  these  means,  they  gained  sur- 
cease from  persecution,  restoration  of  citizenship  and 
of  property,  and  the  boon  of  statehood — for  which 
Brigham  had  worked  so  long.  Then,  they  resumed 
the  practices  and  politics  which  they  had  renounced. 
They  bought  their  independence — and  stole  hack  the 
purchase  price. 


890  BRIGHAM  YOUNG 

Joseph  F.  Smith,  the  present  head  of  the  kingdom, 
has  begotten  twelve  children  by  five  wives  since  he 
pledged  his  word  and  oath  to  abstain  from  polyg- 
amous living.  To  the  best  of  their  ability,  his  faith- 
ful subjects  have  followed  his  example.  Nowhere 
in  the  kingdom,  perhaps,  can  be  found  new  house- 
holds of  the  dimensions  known  to  Brigham  and  to 
Heber  Kimball;  but  probably  there  are  more  plural 
wives  in  that  kingdom  now  than  ever  before. 

The  political  control  of  the  hierarchy  is  so  abso- 
lute that  a  Mormon  official  has  been  reduced  to  the 
ranks  for  circulating  at  a  school  election  a  different 
ticket  from  the  one  favoured  by  his  church  superiors; 
and  at  Washington  an  Apostle  sits  in  the  Senate  as 
ambassador  of  the  polygamous  kingdom — an  am- 
bassador who  has  a  highly  important  vote  in  the  Sen- 
ate of  the  republic  to  which  he  is  accredited. 

Throughout  the  whole  range  of  political  activities 
in  the  Mormon  kingdom,  the  present  polygamous 
ruler  is  supreme  and  almost  unquestioned.  The  legis- 
latures of  a  dozen  states  are  influenced  by  his  will. 
Governors  court  his  favour.  Visiting  Presidents  of 
the  United  States  give  to  him  as  much  deference  as 
they  receive.  And  national  parties  carefully  avoid 
offence  to  his  authority. 

And  for  this  also  Brigham  is  responsible.  He  en- 
couraged contempt  for  the  United  States.  He  talked 
— and  almost  proved — ^that  within  the  Mormon  do- 
minion there  could  be  no  rulership  except  as  subordi- 
nate to  that  of  the  Mormon  prophet.  He  concen- 
trated all  the  power  of  devotion  which  his  people 
could  feel  into  an  idolatrous  loyalty  to  the  head  of 
the  church,  leaving  no  emotion  to  be  wasted  upon 
national  patriotism.     And  what  he  set  in  the  plastic 


THE  KINGDOM  ENDURES  391 

time  of  his  kingdom  has  become  its  fixed  and  im- 
movable character. 

Through  more  than  forty  years  of  service  and  of 
sovereignty,  Brigham  builded  his  kingdom;  and  the 
indignant  might  of  civilization  has  not  wrecked  his 
handiwork.  It  stands  to-day,  inscrutable  in  its  very 
simplicity;  a  theocracy  encysted  in  a  republic,  an  an- 
cient clan  turned  into  a  modern  trust.  It  endures 
adversity,  it  thrives  on  neglect,  and  it  waits  in  con- 
fidence for  the  day  when  the  faith  of  Joseph  and  the 
works  of  Brigham  shall  march  to  dominion  over  the 
entire  earth.  And  on  his  pedestal,  Brigham  waits 
also,  with  outstretched  hand.i 


INDEX 


Blood  Atonement,  261-272. 
Boggs,  Gov.  L.  W., 

Calls  out  militia,  50. 
Issues      "  extermination  " 

order,   51. 
Shooting  of,  80. 
Brocchus,     Judge     Perry     E., 
Quarrel  with  Brigham,  221-2. 

Cannon,   George  Q., 

Chosen     "  Senator     from 

Deseret,"   325. 
Counsellor     to     Brigham, 

343, 
Delegate  to  Congress,  367. 
Re-elected  delegate,  371. 
Connor,    Col.    P.    K, 

Ordered    to    Utah,    328-9. 
Influence  for  peace,  335. 
Cradlebaugh,  Judge,  Baffled  in- 
vestigations of,  31 1-2. 
Cumming,  Gov.  Alfred, 
Character  of,  299-300. 
Comes  to  Salt  Lake  City, 

301-2. 
Reassures  Mormons,  309. 
Calls  out  Nauvoo  Legion, 

313. 
Leaves  Utah,  320. 

Danites,  271. 

Dawson,  Gov.  John  W.,  Trou- 
bles and  flight  of,  323-4. 
Drake,  Judge  Thomas  J., 

Appointed,  328. 

Reply     to      demand      for 
resignation,  334. 
"  Deseret," 

Meaning  of  name,  170. 

State  of,  organized,  213. 


Land  grants  by  legislature 

of,  218. 
Reorganization  in  1863,  331. 

Emigration     (including    immi- 
gration). 
From  Great  Britain,  61. 
Perpetual  fund  for,  180. 
Charles  Dickens  on  Mor- 
mon, 253. 
Management  of,  254-5. 
By  hand-carts,  256-60. 

Gold, 

Discovery  of,  172. 
Seekers    reach    Salt   Lake 

City,  174- 
Brigham     sends     men    to 
mines,   178. 
Grant,  Jedediah  M., 

Part    in   first    emigration, 

154. 
Character,  202. 
Part  in  blood  atonement, 

262-6. 

Harding,  Gov.  Stephen  S., 
Appointed  governor,  328. 
Message     to      legislature, 

330-1. 
Resignation         demanded, 

333. 
Pardons  Morrisites,  335. 
Removed       to      Colorado 

judgeship,  336. 

Indians, 

Encountered     on    pioneer 

march,  133-5. 
Fort  for  protection  from, 


893 


394? 


INDEX 


Brigham's    policy    toward, 

182. 
War  with,  248. 
Massacre  of  Gunnison  by, 

250. 
At     Mountain     Meadows, 

Defeated  by  Connor,  330. 

Johnston,  Gen.  Albert  Sidney, 
Commander   of   Utah   ex- 
pedition, 295. 
Reaches  Fort  Bridger,  300. 
Marches  toward  Salt  Lake 

City,  307. 
Leaves  Utah,  320. 
Judges,  Recall  of.    See  Drake, 
Judge  Thomas  J. 

Kane,  Col.  Thomas  L,. 

At  Winter  Quarters,  118. 
Statements     to     President 

Fillmore,  217-8. 
Goes    to    Salt   Lake    City, 

Mission  to  Gov.  Cummmg, 
300. 

Prevents     Cumming's    re- 
moval, 316. 

Summary     of     character, 
316-8. 
Kimball,  Heber  C, 

Baptized,  16. 

Comes  to  Kirtland,  33. 

British   mission   of,   58. 

Brigham's   lieutenant,    105. 

Counsellor     to     president, 

159. 
Division  of,  in  emigration, 

162. 
Chief  justice  of  "  Deseret," 

170. 
Character,  199-200. 
Prophecies  of,  216. 
Injunction  to  missionaries, 

Letter  to  his  son,  256. 
Death  of,  343. 
Kinney,  Judge  John  F., 
Appointed,  323. 


Orders   arrest   of   Morris, 

Sentences  Morrisites,  334- 

5. 
Territorial  delegate,  336. 
Kirtland, 

Brigham    brings    converts 

to,  33. 
Church  organization  at,  35- 

6. 
Bank  at,  44-6. 
Abandonment  of,  47. 
Polygamy  at,  65. 

Lee,  John  Doyle, 

Campaigns   for  Smith,  88. 
Wives  and  children  of,  240. 
Goes   to  Mountain   Mead- 
ows,  274. 
Supported     by     Brigham, 

280. 
First  trial,   371. 
Conviction,  372. 

McKean,  Judge  James  B., 

Appointment     and     char- 
acter, 357. 
Overrules    territorial   jury 

law,  360. 
Speech  to  juries,  361. 
Ruling    on     "  polygamous 

theocracy,"    364. 
Overruled      by      Supreme 

Court,  366. 
Sends     Brigham    to     jail, 

369. 
Removed,  37a 
March, 

From  Kirtland  to  Missouri, 

34" 
Across  Iowa,  107,  et  seq. 
Of  pioneer  company,   129, 

et  seq. 
Of    first    emigration,    153- 

Second,       from       Winter 

Quarters,    161-3. 
Of    hand-cart    companies, 

256-60. 


INDEX 


395 


To     Mountain     Meadows, 

274-5. 
Federal  expedition,  287,  et 

seq. 
Col.    Connor's,    into    Salt 

Lake  City,  329. 
Missions, 

Brigham  in  Canada,  33. 
To  the  "  Lamanites,"  37-9. 
To  England,  58-62. 
Sent  out  in  1849,  180-1. 
Missouri, 

Expedition  to,  34. 
Pioneers  at  Independence, 

39. 
Revelation      on,     Jackson 

County,  40. 
Quarrel    with    Gentiles    in 

Jackson  County,  41-2. 
Founding    of    Far    West, 

43. 
Purging  of  church  in,  47. 
Final  trouble  begins,  49. 
Expulsion     of     Mormons 

from,   52-5. 
Brigham  returns  to,  56. 
Mormon  Battalion, 
Raised,  no. 
Members  join  pioneers  at 

Laramie,   136. 
Pueblo     division     reaches 

Salt  Lake  City,  148. 
Part    in    gold    discovery, 

173-4. 
Mormon,  Book  of,  18. 
Mormon  Church, 
Founded,  19. 
Sketch     of     organization, 

208-11. 
Present  character,  387,  et 

seq. 
Morris,  Joseph, 

Rebukes  Brigham,  325. 
Killed  by  posse,  327. 
Followers  pardoned,  335. 
Mountain  Meadows, 
Discovery  of,  181. 
Massacre   at,   273,   et  seq. 
Brigham's       responsibility 

for,  279. 


Lee's  execution  at,  282. 
Story  of,  leaks  out,  310. 

Nauvoo, 

Founding  of,  56. 

Unhealthfulness  of,  57. 

Charter,  75-6. 

Growth  of,  77. 

Temple,  78-9,  98,  106. 

Whittling  out  at,  83. 

Schism  at,  88. 

Expositor,  90-1. 

Burnings   at,    loi. 

Exodus  from,  begins,  105. 

Last  attack  on,  1 12-4. 
Nauvoo  Legion, 

Independence  of,  76. 

Called  out  by  Gov.  Gum- 
ming, 313. 

Suppressed,  357. 
New  Movement,  348-52. 

Polygamy, 

Mormon  doctrine  of,  63. 
At  Kirtland,  65. 
Revelation        establishing, 

65-8. 
Reasons  for,  69. 
Denials  of,  72. 
Joseph's  part  in,  73. 
Church      dukes      practice, 

205. 
PubHcly  proclaimed,  225. 
Practice  of,  228,  et  seq. 
Study  of,  237-47. 
First     law     of     Congress 

against,  325. 
McKean's     definition     of, 

363. 
Practised  by  present  head 

of  church,  389. 

Revelation, 

Of  Book  of  Mormon,  18. 
Character  of,  24. 
Smith's  fruitfulness  in,  30. 
At  Fishing  creek,  34. 
On  business,  36. 
Concerning        Jackson 
County,  40. 


INDEX 


mkt, 


7»:1. 


of 


17. 

of  Mor> 


•1.19. 


Tiy<plBg«m,3|. 

35. 


4Mh7- 
47. 


toGoLljns, 


^f* 


70. 
Awe  off 


71- 


o(*9f. 


Uke 


Cily,39B. 


Gvr.  J. 


INDEX 


S97 


Tithes,  ' 

Origin  of,  48. 
For  Nauvoo  temple,  79. 
Payment    in    early    Utah, 

206. 
Uses  of  tithing  fund,  207. 
Walkers    refuse    payment 

of,  345. 
From   outlying   provmccs, 

353. 
Brigham's  use  of,  379- 
Present  status  of,  388i 

Winter  Quarters, 
Sickness  at,  117. 
Organization  of,  119. 
Revelation  given  at,  121. 
Start  from,  129. 
First   Presidency   restored 
at,  151. 

Young,  Ann  Eliza, 

Sues  Brigham  for  divorce, 
368. 

Suit  ends,  372. 
Young,  Brigham, 

Romance  of  career,  9. 

Parentage,  13. 

Marriage,  15. 

Q)nversion,  16. 

Meeting  with  Smith,  17. 

Qjntrast       between,     and 
Smith,  28. 

Mission  to  Canada,  33. 

Becomes  Apostle,  35. 

Feud  with  Rigdon,  37. 

Leaves  Kirtland,  47. 

Helps    "purging"   at   Far 
West,  47-8. 

Practical  head  of  church, 
54- 

British  mission,  58,  et  seq. 

Returns  to  Nauvoo,  62. 

Discourages    Smith's    rev- 
elations, 79. 

Campaigning  for  Smith,  88L 

Defeats  Rigdon,  98. 

Letter  to  church,  99. 

Expels  Rigdon,  99. 


Begms  manying  Smith's 
widows,  100. 

Promises  to  leave  Nauvoo, 
102. 

More  marriages  of,  105. 

At  Sugar  creek,  106. 

At  Winter  Quarters,  119. 

Issues  revelation,  121,  et 
seq. 

Marriages  at  Winter  Quar- 
ters, 128. 

Heads  pioneer  party,  129. 

Sick  with  mountain  fever, 
140- 

Reaches  valley,  141. 

Lays  down  law  for  settle- 
ment, 145- 

Appoints  place  of  temple, 
147. 

Returns  to  Winter  Quar- 
ters, 150. 

President  of  church,  159. 

Epistle  to  church,  161. 

Return  to  Salt  Lake  City, 
161. 

Coins  money,  165. 

Governor  of  "  Deseret,"  170. 

Stops  rush  to  gold-fields, 
176. 

Control  of  colony,  181 -7. 

Indian  policy  of,   182. 

Patron  of  arts,  189. 

Opposition  to  lawyers  and 
doctors,   192. 

Selecting  his  inheritance, 
197. 

Grant  of  Gty  Creek  canon 
to,  198,  note. 

Foimds  church  aristocracy, 

199. 

Demands  polygamy  of  fa- 
vourites, 205. 

Opposed  to  whipping-post, 
213. 

Territorial  governor,  21S-9L 

Attack  on  Brocchus,  222. 

Number  of  marriages,  236. 

Proclaims  mastership,  248u 

Innocence  of  Gunnison 
murder,  251. 


398 


INDEX 


Reappointed  governor,  252. 

Responsibility  for  hand- 
cart tragedy,  260. 

Preaches  persecution,  264. 

Preaches  blood  atonement, 
265. 

Responsibility  for  Moun- 
tain Meadows,  279-80. 

Defies  United  States,  289. 

Orders  federal  troops  from 
territory,  294. 

Prepares  to  burn  city,  303. 

Harangues  peace  commis- 
sion, 306. 

Accused  of  counterfeiting, 

313. 
Makes  profit  from  troops, 

314- 

Buys  military  supplies,  321. 

Encounter  with  Col.  Con- 
nor, 330. 

Quarrel  with  Harding,  331. 

Denounces  federal  officials, 
333. 


Organizes    Z.    C.    M.    I., 

346,  et  seq. 
Excommunicates      Godbe- 

ites,  351. 
Indicted    for    "  lewd    and 

lascivious    cohabitation," 

363. 
Defiance      of       Congress, 

367. 
Sued  for  divorce  by  Ann 

Eliza,  368. 
Sentenced  to  jail,  369. 
Growth  of  empire,  374,  et 

seq. 
Last  illness  and  death  of, 

376-7. 
Fortune  and  will,  379. 
Summary      of      character, 

379-85. 
Monument,  386. 


Zion's  Co-operative  Mercantile 
Institution,  346. 


PRINTED  IN   THE  UNITED   STATES  OF  AMERICA 


HOME  MISSIONS 


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LEMUEL  C.  BARNES,  P.P. 

Elemental  Forces  in  Home  Missions 

l2mo,  cloth,  net  75c. 
By  the  author  of  that  popular  missionary  text-book,  "Two 
Thousand  Years  of  Missions  Before  Carey."  Some  of  the 
most  important  issues  connected  with  the  work  of  Christian- 
izing America  are  presented  with  a  breadth,  a  clearness, 
a^  force  and  a  conviction  that  will  pive  the  reader  a  new 
vision  of  the  Home  Mission  opportunity  and  a  new  sense  of 
kis  responsibility.  ^ 

JAMES  F.  LOVE,  D  D. 

Ass.  Ctr  Sec   Htm   Missitn  Beard  Southern  Baptist  CntvntUm 

The  Mission  of  Our  Nation 

T2mo,  cloth,  net  $1.00. 
"Doctor  Love  shows  himself  at  once  a  historian  and  a 
prophet  as  he  opens  the  book  of  the  past  and  points  out  its 
suggestion  for  the  future.  The  reader  is  irresistibly  carried 
forward  to  the  conclusions  of  the  author.  Interesting,  illtun- 
inating   and   inspiring." — Baptist   Teacher, 

MARY  CLARK'  BARNES 

Early  Stories  and  Songs  for  New  Students 
of  English 
Illustrated,  i6mo,  cloth,  net  60c. ;  paper,  net  35c. 

Dr.  Edward  A.  Steiner  says:  "Not  only  practical  but  it 
aflFords  easy  transition  to  the  higher  things.  The  Bible  is  a 
wonderful  primer,  simple,  yet  wonderfully  profound.  I  am 
glad  that  it  is  the  basis  of  your  system  of  teaching  English 

to   foreigners." 

HOME  MISSIONS— TEXT  BOOKS 

BRUCE  KINNEY,  P.P. 


Mormonism :  The  Islam  of  America 

Home  Mission  Study  Course.    Illustrated,  i2mQ, 
cloth,  net  50c.;  paper,  net  30c. 

Dr.  Kinney  treats  the  subject  in  a  judicious  way,  avoid- 
ing denunciation  or  undue  criticism.  The  facts  of  Mormon 
history,  doctrine  and  life  are  woven  into  a  readable  story 
that  is  sure  to  hold  the  attention. 

JOHN  R.  HENRY 

Some  Immigrant  Neighbors 

The  Hchne  Mission  Junior  Text  Book.    Illustrated, 
I2mo,  cloth,  net  40c.;  paper,  net  25c. 

The  author  is  the  pastor  of  "The  Church  of  All  Nations'* 
in  New  York  City.  He  writes  of  many  nationalities  from  his 
own  experience.  Through  his  sympathetic  portrayal  the  child 
student  will  be  drawn  toward  a  neighborly  feeling  for  bia 
little  brothers  of  foreign  speech. 


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